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Like the Jets a week ago, the Browns brought in quarterback Robert Griffin III for a visit. Like the Jets visit a week ago, Griffin’s visit to the Browns was aimed at allowing the team to do its due diligence regarding the second overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Unlike the Jets, the Browns are doing more extensive homework on Griffin.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Browns are making calls to people who know Griffin to find out who may know more about the player and, specifically, his character. (That could make for an awkward conversation if the Browns call former Cleveland offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who was Griffin’s first offensive coordinator in the NFL and who spent a season in Cleveland that ended under unusual circumstances.)

The Browns reportedly are willing to give up a third-round pick to acquire quarterback Colin Kaepernick from the 49ers, but Kaepernick reportedly isn’t willing to reduce his $12 million salary far enough to get the deal done. The interest in Griffin, who can be acquired without compensation to any team and surely at far less than $12 million, could be aimed at getting Kaepernick to blink.

And if Kaepernick doesn’t blink, the Browns possibly will give Griffin a chance to turn around his career with a franchise that has been trying to turn itself around for more than a decade.