Browns second-year wide receiver Ricardo Louis revealed Tuesday he'll workout with Brandon Marshall this summer in his hometown of Miami.
That's because Louis, a fourth-round pick in 2016 who caught 18 passes for 205 yards as a rookie, is leaving no stone unturned on a quest to earn a bigger role on Cleveland's new-look offense this season.
In a position group looking for new playmakers, Louis is confident he's laid a foundation to be an every-down type of player after the Browns parted with leading receiver Terrelle Pryor in free agency and veteran Andrew Hawkins this past winter.
"I have a chance," Louis said as the team prepares for mandatory veterans minicamp, the last phase of its offseason workouts. "Nobody has a real legit spot right now, nobody's No. 1, nobody's No. 2. Right now we're all just competing."
And a trip down to South Florida this summer, Louis said, should help him keep that momentum flowing into training camp in July.
But this whole rendezvous with Marshall — the 12-year veteran and 6-time Pro Bowler whom Louis admires because of their similar size and approach to the position — is a long time in the making.
"It's a funny story," Louis said with a wide smile.
After declaring for the Draft two winters ago, Louis — the former Auburn standout who moved permanently to receiver as a sophomore — was in search of a mentor to master the position. So he reached out to Marshall, who founded an athletic performance and training center in nearby Fort Lauderdale.
"I had to find someone who could help me figure it out," he said. "So I hit him up."
And then he waited … and waited some more.
Louis finally heard back last week, adding there were no hard feelings to the delayed response.
"He was like, 'Sorry I just saw it!' And that just tells you what kind of guy he is," Louis said.
"You could tell that he's very genuine, he's a really good guy to me just based on what he did with that, just hitting me back after a year-and-a-half saying, 'I'd love to get together with you' … I think by him doing that, he really wants me to succeed."
And that's precisely why, Louis said, summer break is far from the time to rest.
"I'm learning, I'm playing fast, I'm catching the ball better," he said. "I'm doing everything that (senior offensive assistant) coach Al (Saunders) has been preaching to us. When he says I do something right, I want to capitalize on that and continue to do better each day."
