Browns tight end Steve Heiden underwent surgery last week to repair to a bulging disk in his back, his agent, Jack Wirth, confirmed Friday.

Heiden, whose surgery was first reported on ESPN.com, will be out of the Browns' off-season program for about three weeks, Wirth said.

"It was a very minor procedure," said Wirth. "They weren't even going to do it at first, just treat it instead. But Steve decided to go ahead and have it cleaned up and get it over with."

Wirth said Heiden experienced pain in the back during the off-season workout program.

"I talked to Steve the day after the procedure, and he said he was fine," said Wirth.

Heiden, a 10th-year pro, caught 12 passes for 104 yards last season as the backup tight end behind Kellen Winslow.

News Flash:

Kent State cornerback Jack Williams was not one of the 30 players the Browns had in for a pre-draft visit, but they did scout him a couple of times at Kent last season and spent some time with him at the combine.

Mel Kiper Jr. has the Browns taking Williams with their first pick in the draft, the 122nd overall in the fourth round.

"That would be a blessing," said Williams. "I'd also get to play again with my former teammate Josh Cribbs. But I really have no preference where I get drafted. I'll just be happy to get a chance to play in the NFL."

Williams has had interest from Tampa Bay, the Jets, Atlanta and Denver.

"I don't think he'll last until the fourth round," said Kevin Omell, his agent.

Williams, who had 93 tackles and three interceptions for the Flashes last season, had what he described as a "bad combine" because he put on 10 pounds - to about 185 - so that NFL scouts would deem him big enough for the NFL.

"I found out you can't just throw weight on and do stuff immediately," he said. "It hurt my speed."

Williams then shed about nine pounds in the few weeks before his pro day at Kent and ran an impressive 4.32 in the 40. All of a sudden, he was back on many teams' radars.

"Now I've put [the weight] back on, and I'm training with the weight," he said. "So I should be ready, both with strength and speed, when I get to camp."

Williams knows some teams are leery of his 5-9 stature.

"I use it to motivate myself," he said. "I love it. I love to prove people wrong."

Williams said he's grateful that Cribbs made the Pro Bowl.

"Nobody knows too much about Kent, but he helped put us on the map," Williams said. "Now we just have to keep it going."

Other maybes:

Some of the players the Browns had in for visits included UNLV linebacker Beau Bell, Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo, Auburn linebacker Quentin Groves and Wisconsin receiver Paul Hubbard. Some, such as Mayo and Groves, will be long gone, but General Manager Phil Savage said he was scouting some of them as future potential free agents. Others that might interest the Browns include UCLA linebacker Bruce Davis Jr., Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard and McNeese State linebacker Bryan Smith.