Browns cut troubled wide receiver Davone Bess
Davone Bess had a career-low 42 catches for 362 yards last season. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
The Browns have released wide receiver Davone Bess, the team announced Wednesday morning.
The 28-year-old is owed a guaranteed $3.067 million for 2014, but the team may try to "recoup at least a portion of the money because of the events that led to his dismissal," according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Bess, traded to Cleveland during the 2013 draft, was arrested in Fort Lauderdale airport in January on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer.
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Shortly after the arrest, Bess admitted himself into a Florida medical treatment facility.
"I was in a point of my life where there was a lot of betrayal and mistrust and I didn't know how to handle it," Bess told The Plain Dealer last month. "So I went and got some help. I went through the process and learned it's OK to express my feelings but I have to do it in a positive way."
Bess missed the last two games of last season for personal reasons and then posted a photo of himself on Instagram with what appeared to be marijuana. Sources told Cabot at the time that he was dealing with a serious family matter and that it was taking a toll on him.
Days after the trade, the Browns signed Bess to a three-year contract extension worth $8.817 million, including $5.75 million guaranteed.
But the six-year veteran had career-lows in catches (42), receiving yards (362) and yards per catch (8.6) last season and dropped nine passes. He has 3,809 career receiving yards on 363 catches with 14 touchdowns.
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