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The New England Patriots and free-agent wide receiver Kenny Britt are reportedly nearing an agreement on a contract after the nine-year veteran was cut by the Cleveland Browns on Friday, according to ESPN.com's Field Yates.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Britt will ink a two-year deal with the Patriots "that locks him in through 2018."

Britt signed a four-year, $32.5 million deal that included $17 million guaranteed to join the Browns in the offseason, and it appeared to be a savvy signing for a team in need of playmakers after the 29-year-old erupted for 68 catches, 1,002 yards and five touchdowns during his lone season with the Los Angeles Rams.

However, the Browns never sniffed that kind of production.

In nine games, Britt managed 18 receptions on 38 targets for 233 yards and a pair of scores.

Britt also ran into disciplinary trouble when he and fellow wide receiver Corey Coleman were sent home for missing curfew before the team's 33-17 loss to the Houston Texans on October 15. According to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot, that incident put Britt "in jeopardy of being cut."

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The Rutgers product was able to hang around through the first week of December, but new general manager John Dorsey—who replaced the jettisoned Sashi Brown—sent Britt packing one day into his tenure with the club.

Now headed to the Patriots, Britt should be on a mission to prove he can rediscover the form that allowed him to secure such a handsome payday from the Browns.

That may not be easy at this point in the season, but if Britt can establish some quick chemistry with Tom Brady and hunker down with the playbook, the 6'3", 223-pounder could soon emerge as an intriguing jump-ball option inside the red zone for a Patriots passing game that was uncharacteristically off in a Week 14 loss to the Miami Dolphins.