Source: Patrick McManamon, Akron Beacon Journal [ Full Article ]
Never let it be said the Browns are not active in free agency.
The Browns have added seven players, which ties them with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the most signings in the league.
In a market considered mediocre, the Browns have added two offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, a running back, a linebacker and a cornerback.
This activity continues a trend in the Phil Savage era. The Browns have spent and spent and spent on players from other teams in a frantic attempt to patch holes and to improve.
The spending has reached hefty proportions -- especially in terms of signing bonuses and guaranteed money.
That is money right out of pocket, and the numbers the Browns have spent out of pocket are near-staggering, according to figures obtained from league sources and published reports:
In 2005, the Browns signed seven players for total signing bonuses of $16.6 million. The largest bonus went to cornerback Gary Baxter: $9 million. This list includes the new deal given quarterback Trent Dilfer ($2.1 million), because his contract was restructured as soon as he was acquired via trade.
In 2006, the figure for cash out of pocket increased to $32 million, a sum that jumps higher if the contract extension given Reuben Droughns is considered. The free-agent figure includes bonus money given to LeCharles Bentley ($12 million) and Kevin Shaffer ($9 million).
This offseason, Eric Steinbach set the bar early, when the guard was given $17 million in guaranteed money. Add in the rest of the signings, and the Browns are in the neighborhood (conservatively) of $25 million.
That means that in the three offseasons, Savage, the team's general manager, has spent (not just committed, but spent) $73 million.
Let's state it this way -- if you make $50,000 per year (a fair salary), you'd work 1,460 years to make that money. But who's counting?
That $73 million figure does not, by the way, include signing bonuses given to draft picks -- such as Braylon Edwards, who got $6.5 million, or Brodney Pool, who got $2 million.
This investment has produced a return of 10 wins in two seasons.
And it has produced the following:
Consecutive offseasons in which the Browns made players the NFL's highest paid at their positions: Bentley at center and Steinbach (briefly) at guard.
Bad-luck injuries to Baxter ($9 million) and Bentley ($12 million) that put their futures in doubt.
Shaffer turning into a league-wide example of overpaying to fill a need. The Browns have said Shaffer was their best option at left tackle, but many in the league think the Browns paid him like the best player.
Little from the 2005 free-agent class. Four of the new-contract guys -- nose tackle Jason Fisk, Dilfer, guard Cosey Coleman and safety Brian Russell -- no longer are with the team. A fifth, linebacker Matt Stewart, rarely plays. The sixth, Baxter, is rehabbing torn ligaments in both knees.
Four remaining players from the 2006 free-agency class: Joe Jurevicius, Dave Zastudil, Willie McGinest and Ted Washington. Bentley's future is cloudy, and Shaffer might be moved from left tackle.
The trading of Droughns one year after he signed a contract extension, just as with Dilfer. In return, the Browns got a fourth-round draft pick and underachieving receiver Tim Carter.
In one sense, this is life in the NFL.
Personnel change from year to year is significant, and average players become rich if they hit the free-agent market. If teams want to sign them, they have to pay them. Too, the Browns did not break the bank for players other than Steinbach.
The key, though, is that money does not make an average player into a good player.
The Browns might look back through the years and see that the money given to Jurevicius ($2.25 million) and Zastudil ($2.1 million) was the best investments they made. Both are dependable, productive players who did not cost a fortune. Same with Russell, who had a strong year in 2006 and left for the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent.
Nobody can predict injuries like Baxter's and Bentley's, but those injures do highlight the risk of laying out big money. One wrong turn can make the investment nil.
The money spent and the number of signings show where the Browns started -- Savage has said often that he had to bring in players to fill out a depleted roster -- and also shows how their philosophy in the present has led to tough years.
Most teams view free agency as a supplement to the draft. The Internet site Coldhardfootballfacts.com revealed that 87 of this season's 97 Pro Bowl players made it as members of their original teams.
Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome often has said of free agency: "Right player, right price." He has backed out of signing players when the price exceeded what he thought was the right value.
The New England Patriots had not been a big spender in free agency until this offseason, when they brought in linebacker Adalius Thomas. That signing was praised, because Thomas was considered to be one of the best players on the market.
The Browns keep bringing guys in -- many at key positions.
In free agency in the past three years, they've signed six offensive linemen, three defensive linemen, a running back (two if Droughns' extension is considered) and a receiver.
It's an enormous investment, one that leads to two questions:
Will this be the year it pays off?
And if it doesn't, how long will Randy Lerner keep signing these checks?
Browns Keep Shelling Out Upfront For Free Agents 
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