CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Dez Bryant slipped to the Browns' back burner after visiting the club last month, but things could heat up again next week after the vested veteran guarantee expires, a league source told cleveland.com.

If the Browns signed the ninth-year pro before the first game, his entire 2018 salary would be guaranteed. After the first game, only 25 percent of the salary is guaranteed in the event he were released.

In a cleveland.com interview with Browns GM John Dorsey on Tuesday, he re-iterated that he liked Bryant during his visit here Aug. 16 and noted "it's a week-to-week thing. Who's to say I won't call Dez on Tuesday and see how it's going?'' He added that a player would have to come in soon to be able to make an impact this season.

Profootballtalk.com reported that the Browns offered Bryant a base salary worth less than $5 million for the 2018 season, and a source told cleveland.com that the two sides weren't close on the money.

But the Browns could sweeten the deal with play-time and performance-based incentives.

Bryant wants to play for a contender, and will undoubtedly have other suitors when the full guarantee is up. But there's no doubt that Bryant is a Dorsey kind of player.

"I've had a chance to be around Dez,'' Dorsey said last month. "I got a chance, when he was down there at Lufkin, Texas, I actually went to his (pre-draft) workout and got a chance to meet him down there. I know what kind of person he is and what makes him, he's a very talented player."

Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been expressed several times that he'd love to see Bryant.

"That would be awesome,'' he said last month. "I've said this before. We know what type of talent Dez brings to the football field. He's been a very, very good player in his time throughout this league and he adds talent to the wide receiver room.

"I definitely think he could help this team."

After Bryant's visit, Taylor said, "I've texted him, but I haven't physically talked to him. I would love to see where his mind is."

The third episode of HBO's Hard Knocks showed a scene in Jackson's office with Bryant where he gets him fired up about what he believes can be "the greatest turnaround in sports history."

He also tells Bryant, "In order to deliver, I need guys like you."