The Cleveland Browns trade 26-year old OLB/DE Kamerion Wimbley to the Raiders for a third round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Wimbley played in 16 games for the Browns last season in which he made 69 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he had 6.5 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Wimbley played in 63 games in his 4 years with the Browns in which he made 248 tackles, had 26.5 sacks, defensed 4 passes, forced 7 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  The Browns might have a hard time replacing Wimbley as he was the teams’ best pass rusher in his time in Cleveland. 

The Cleveland Browns have traded 25-year old QB Brady Quinn to the Broncos for 24-year old FB/RB Peyton Hillis, a 6th round pick in 2011 and a conditional late round pick in the 2012 season.  Quinn played in 10 games for the Browns last season in which he completed 136 of 256 passes (53.1%) for 1,339 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 INTs (67.2 QB Rating).  Quinn also carrried the ball 20 times for 98 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run last season for the Browns.  Quinn played in 14 games in his career with the Browns in which he completed 184 of 353 passes (52.1%) for 1,902 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  Quinn also carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Quinn will likely be the Broncos’ 2nd string QB in 2010 as Coach Josh McDaniels has liked him for a while.  But, with the signing of Jake Delhomme and the trade for Seneca Wallace, Quinn was no longer needed.

24-year old FB/RB Peyton Hillis is the perfect type of fullback for the West Coast Offense but he will be hard pressed to beat out starter Lawrence Vickers who is a mauler as a run blocker.  Hillis can also carry the ball as a tailback as he was the Broncos’ leading rusher in 2009.  Hillis played in 14 games for the Broncos last season in which he carried the ball 13 times for 54 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 19 yards (4.8 avg) and he returned 6 kickoffs for 134 yards (22.3 avg) last season for the Broncos.  Hillis has now played in 26 games in his NFL career in which he has carried the ball 81 times for 397 yards (4.9 ypc) with 6 TD grabs.  He has also caught 18 passes for 198 yards (11.0 avg) for 1 TD and he has returned 10 kickoffs for 199 yards (19.9 avg) in his career.  To get two late round picks and a decent FB/RB for Brady Quinn was decent value as the Broncos knew the Browns had to trade him after bringing in Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme.

The Browns have signed 35-year old QB Jake Delhomme to a 2-year, $7 million dollar deal.  Delhomme played in 11 games last season for the Panthers last season in which he completed 178 of 321 passes (55.5%) for 2,015 yards with 8 TD passes and 18 INTs (59.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 60 yards (3.5 ypc) last season.  Delhomme has now played in 97 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 1,630 of 2,755 (59.2%) for 19,892 yards with 123 TD passes and 94 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  Delhomme has also carried the ball 167 times for 330 yards (2.0 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career.  Delhomme signed with the Browns because they will give him a chance to battle Seneca Wallace for the starting QB job in training camp.  Delhomme was awful last season but he was a solid starting QB before that so the Browns will give him a chance to revive his NFL career in 2010.  I like this signing for the Browns.

The Browns have released 33-year old TE Steve Heiden.  Heiden played in 7 games for the Browns last season in which he caught 10 passes for 73 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He played in 106 games in his 8 years with the Browns in which he caught 187 passes for 1,602 yards (8.6 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Heiden was a class act and a solid player for the Browns but this was the right move for them to make.

The Browns have signed 29-year old TE Ben Watson to a 3-year, $9 million dollar deal.  Watson played in all 16 games for the Patriots last season in which he caught 29 passes for 404 yards (13.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has now played in 71 games in his NFL career in which he has caught 167 passes for 2,102 yards (12.6 avg) with 20 TD grabs.  This was a excellent signing for the Browns as Watson will give whoever is playing QB a big TE with good hands.  He is also a good run blocker.  I really like what the new Browns’ regime is doing so far.