Kevin Stefanski hopes there’s a scenario where Sheldon Richardson returns

[Chomps]

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The Browns released defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson last week in the kind of cap-clearing move we’ve seen many teams make this offseason.

Richardson’s departure cleared $11 million under the salary cap, which came in handy as the Browns’ pursuit of Jadeveon Clowney paid off with a deal. On Tuesday, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said that he’d like to see a way for Richardson to return at a different cap number.

“There’s some salary cap constraints that I think everybody understands and they’re hard decisions and Sheldon in particular, played really productive football for us and he played through injuries, and he took great pride in getting to the playoffs for the first time in his career,” Stefanski said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “So he was a big part of that. I hope there’s a scenario [where he can come back] but those are the hard decisions that are made. I really want to point out that Sheldon was such a big part of what we did last year.”

Leaving the door open is a familiar refrain after teams part ways with useful veterans, but it remains to be seen if reunion chatter amounts to more than lip service.