Former Packers WR Jeff Janis will sign with Browns, per report

The Hype Train has left the station for the final time.

Jeff Janis, a seventh-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers’ in 2014, is an unrestricted free agent and has reportedly settled on his next NFL team. According to Peter Schrager, Janis is set to sign a contract with the Cleveland Browns, rejoining former Packers scouts Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith along with former Packers players Damarious Randall and JC Tretter.

Janis, who played college football at Division II Saginaw State, put up a magnificant workout at the 2014 NFL Combine, landing him in Green Bay. He showed glimpses of ability every preseason, but rarely received meaningful opportunities after August. His most notable performance came in the 2015 Divisional Round playoff game, when the Packers were down to a skeleton crew of wide receivers; Janis caught seven of eleven targets in that game for 145 yards and two touchdowns; however, two of those plays came on the Packers’ final drive of the game, when he hauled in a 60-yard bomb on fourth and 20 and then a 41-yard Hail Mary on the final play of regulation to send the game to overtime.

Instead, Janis’ role was primarily that of a gunner on the punt team and an occasional kickoff returner. His speed and size made him especially effective in the former role, helping Packers rookie punter Justin Vogel set a franchise record for net punting yardage in a season in 2017.

The Browns appear to have a solid top group of receivers, with Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry, and Corey Coleman expected to be the starting trio and 2016 draft picks Rashard Higgins and Ricardo Louis also in the mix. Time will tell whether Janis will receive more opportunities on offense in Cleveland than he did in Green Bay, but he appears to be a fourth option at best for the time being.