CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns restricted free agent Tashaun Gipson is keeping his talents at home in Texas while the Browns begin their voluntary offseason program today.

Although the program is optional, the majority of players attend.

But Gipson, who's not technically under contract and has made it known he wasn't thrilled to receive the second-round tender, is opting to work out at home instead of joining the rest of his teammates at the Browns facility in Berea, league sources have told Northeast Ohio Media Group.



Teams have until Friday to make Gipson an offer, and he'll likely stay home at least until that period is over -- and possibly longer. The choice to work out in Texas is Gipson's, the source said.

The second-round tender would pay Gipson $2.356 million in 2015 if he doesn't sign a long-term deal with the Browns or another team first. The Browns would have the right to match any offer, and if they don't, the new team would have to give the Browns a second-round pick.



If the Browns had given Gipson the first-round tender, he would've made $3.347 million in 2015.



As for the Browns three other restricted free agents, two have signed their tenders and one has not. Linebacker Craig Robertson and safety Johnson Bademosi's signed their tenders, Robertson a second-rounder and Bademosi a low-round tender worth $1.542 million.

Defensive tackle Ishmaa'ily Kitchen has not yet signed his low-round tender.

There is some thought if Gipson plays out the tender in 2015, he'll hit the jackpot on the open market in 2016 -- if the Browns don't make him their franchise player. The franchise number for safeties -- the average of the top five salaries at the position -- is about $9.6 million for 2015.



If the Browns do start negotiating a long-term contract for Gipson, a benchmark would be the contract signed this offseason by Patriots Pro Bowl safety Devin McCourty. Before hitting the market this year, he re-signed with New England for five years, $47.5 million, including a $15 million signing bonus and $28.5 million guaranteed. McCourty's $9.5 million a year average makes him the second-highest-paid safety in the league, and he doesn't come close to Gipson in terms of interceptions.



McCourty has three interceptions the past two seasons, while Gipson has 11, a sum that ranks second only to Seattle's Richard Sherman over that span.



Gipson, signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Wyoming in 2012, finished second in the NFL last season with a career-high six interceptions -- despite missing the final five games of the season with a Grade Three tear of his right medial collateral ligament.



A testament to his fabulous production, he was still voted to the Pro Bowl despite missing almost a third of the season. He wasn't able to play in the game because of the knee injury, but it was a tremendous honor nonetheless for an undrafted player.



"I'm so happy for him,'' fellow Pro Bowl defensive back Joe Haden said at the time. "Ever since he came in as an undrafted rookie, he's always got that label 'undrafted free agent, undrafted free agent.' But he's letting his play speak for itself and he's just a playmaker. I've known that since I've seen him out there, just the way he understands football and the way he flies around to the ball.

"He reads the quarterbacks and gets good jumps and he's able to cover from sideline to sideline. I just really, really love playing with him and his ability to shine. I'm just so happy everybody else gets to see how good he really is."

In October, Gipson -- who's fully recovered from the knee injury -- told Northeast Ohio Media Group that he wants to be a Brown for life.

"I'd love to finish my career playing in this city," he said. "This is the first organization to give me my opportunity, the first one that took a chance on me, an unheralded guy coming out of Wyoming that nobody wanted to take a chance on. God blessed me to come here so I definitely want to finish my career here, play here in the city of Cleveland.

"I love the coaches, I envision them being here for a long time because I think the winning tradition is on the way."

Gipson, who's returned two of his 12 career interceptions for touchdowns, was part of a defense last season that led the NFL in opponents' quarterback rating (74.1) and pass breakups (99). The Browns also finished second in the NFL with 21 picks.