The Browns are bringing back the versatile Friedman on a 1-year contract.  He played in all 16 games (2 starts) last year.  He has played in 81 games (34 starts) over his 8-year career.  He’s a good backup lineman that played well for the Browns in 2006.

The Browns have paid LeCharles Bentley a $1.5 million dollar option bonus even though he didn’t play a down in 2006 and won’t play one in 2007.   Bentley has played 5 seasons in the NFL and he’s played in 57 games (all starts).  The Browns are hoping that he’ll add to that total in 2008 for them.

The Browns have signed DE Robaire Smith and DT/NT Shaun Smith to 4 year contracts.  Robaire Smith played in 15 games last season for the Tennessee Titans and he made 44 tackles, 1/2 a sack and defensed 2 passes.  The 6’4″, 310 pounder is a good run stuffer and the Browns need all the help they can get there.  Over his career, R.Smith has played in 96 games and he’s made 246 tackles, has 15.5 sacks, defensed 18 passes, forced a fumble and recovered 3 fumbles.

Shaun Smith was a restricted free agent that was plucked from the Cincinnati Bengals.  He played in 13 games and made 10 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  The 6’2″, 325 pound Smith has played in 34 games in his three year NFL career and he’s made 46 tackles and defensed a pass.

Robaire Smith will start from Day #1 for the Browns but Shaun Smith will have to beat out Ted Washington.  If Shaun Smith can’t beat out Washington to start then he won’t be worth the money the Browns are paying him.

McKinney is coming off of a back injury that kept him out all of last season.  If he is healthy look for him to start at right guard for the Browns.  McKinney has played in 61 games for the Miami Dolphins in 5 years (34 starts).  He is a player with a mean streak that should help the Browns’ running game and he’s a big guy at 6’3″, 310 pounds.  This was a good signing for the Browns as they need to get better along the O-Line.

The Browns have felt that Smith’s play has started to decline so they got rid of him.  He played in all 16 games (8 starts) for the Browns last season and he carried the ball 8 times for 14 yards (1.8 ypc) and he caught 8 passes for 21 yards (2.6 avg).  The Browns will give second year fullback Lawrence Vickers a shot to replace Smith this season in the Browns’ backfield.

When the Browns signed Jamal Lewis that pretty much was the beginning of the end for Reuben Droughns stay in Cleveland.  Droughns had a sub par year for the Browns last season as he played in 14 games (12 starts) and he carried the ball 220 times for 758 yards (3.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 27 passes for 169 yards (6.3 avg).  In Droughns two seasons for the Browns he played in 30 games (28 starts) and he carried the ball 529 times for 1,990 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also caught 66 passes for 538 yards (8.2 avg).

The Browns have brought in WR Tim Carter.  Carter played in 16 games for the Giants last season (8 starts) and he caught 22 passes for 253 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD catches.  The 6’0″, 200 pound Carter has played 5 seasons in the NFL.  He’s played in 53 games (11 starts) and he has caught 72 passes for 967 yards (13.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 11 times for 97 yards (8.8 ypc) and he’s returned 6 kickoffs for 87 yards (14.5 avg).  Look for the speedy Carter to try to fill Dennis Northcutt’s role in the Browns offense.

The Browns decided to terminate the contract of cornerback Daylon McCutcheon.  McCutcheon missed all of last season while recovering from microfracture surgery.  He played in 8 seasons for the Browns and he played in 103 games and made 424 tackles, had 7 sacks, 12 interceptions (2 returned for TDs), defensed 41 passes and forced 9 fumbles.  He was an original Cleveland Brown that was drafted in 1999 when the team returned to the NFL.

The Browns have signed running back Jamal Lewis to a one year contract.  Lewis played in all 16 games for the Baltimore Ravens last season and he carried the ball 314 times for 1,132 yards (3.6 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He also caught 18 passes for 115 yards (6.4 avg).  Look for Lewis to bump Reuben Droughns either to the bench or completely off of the Browns roster as he’s due a roster bonus next week.  Lewis has played in 91 games in his career (87 starts) and he’s carried the ball 1,822 times for 7,801 yards (4.3 ypc) with 45 TD runs.  He also has caught 160 passes for 1,365 yards (8.5 avg) with 2 TD catches.  Lewis has rushed for over 1,000 yards in five of his six seasons (he missed 2001 due to injury).  In 2003, Lewis ran for 2,066 yards and he had 14 TD runs that year.  He also set an NFL record when he rushed for 295 yards in a game against the Browns!  Lewis still runs hard and he’s fast enough to go a long way if he can break through the line.  This was a nice upgrade for the Browns as Reuben Droughns looked like the back up running back that he really is last season.  Now the Browns can go for the best available player in the first round of next month’s draft.

The Browns have signed Kenny Wright to compete for the starting CB opposite of Leigh Bodden.  Wright played in all 16 games for the Washington Redskins last season and he made 39 tackles, had 1 interception and defensed 11 passes.  Over his career, Wright has played in 126 games and he’s made 356 tackles, has three sacks, 7 interceptions, defensed 53 passes, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles (one of which was returned for a TD).  If Wright doesn’t win the starting CB job, he will be a valuable nickel back for the Browns.

Antwan Peek was signed to help out the Browns either at OLB or DE this season.  He played for defensive co-ordinator Todd Grantham for the Houston Texans and the coach likes him as a pass rusher.  Peek played in 11 games last season for the Texans and he made 14 tackles, had a sack, defensed 1 pass and forced a fumble.  Peek has played 51 games in his 4 year career and he’s made 105 tackles, has 10 sacks, 1 interception, defensed 3 passes, forced 5 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles (1 for a TD).  Peek will probably battle Willie McGinest for the starting outside linebacker job opposite of Kamerion Wimbley because he really doesn’t have the size (6’3″, 250) to play at defensive end.