The Browns have dealt an undisclosed draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for 26-year old OG John Greco.  Greco played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Rams last year.  He has now played in 26 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the NFL.  Greco has the reputation of being a nasty run blocker.  He will compete with Billy Yates and Shaun Lauvao for the starting RG spot in 2011.

The Browns have re-signed 27-year old DE Jayme Mitchell to a 2-year deal.  Mitchell didn’t get into any games with the Browns last year but he did play in 2 games for the Vikings last year in which he had 1 tackle and 1 sack.  Mitchell has now played in 29 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 22 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  The Browns think that Mitchell can help them pass rush wise, so that’s why he’s coming back.

The Browns have signed 25-year old RB Brandon Jackson to a 2-year, $4.5 million dollar deal.  Jackson played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Packers last year and he carried the ball 190 times for 703 yards (3.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 43 passes for 342 yards (8.0 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  Jackson has now played in 52 games (16 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 347 times for 1,329 yards (3.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also has caught 110 passes for 844 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far in his career.  Brandon Jackson will compete with Montario Hardesty to be the Browns’ #2 RB in 2011.  If nothing else, Jackson is a good receiver out of the backfield.  I like this signing for the Browns.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Browns have placed Brandon Jackson on the Injured Reserve List due to a case of turf toe.

The Browns have released 29-year old linebacker Eric Alexander.  Alexander played in 5 games for the Browns last year and he had 6 tackles and he forced 2 fumbles.  Alexander has now played in 53 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 57 tackles and 3 forced fumbles.  Alexander has been little more than a special teams player in his career so the Browns won’t miss him too much.

The Browns have signed 26-year old safety Usama Young.  Young played in 11 games for the Saints last year and he had 23 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 3 passes defensed.  Young has now played in 52 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 106 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries, 14 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  The Browns have a need at safety so this could be the big chance that Young has been waiting for.

The Cleveland Browns have released 36-year old QB Jake Delhomme.  Delhomme played in 5 games (4 starts) for the Browns last year and he completed 93 of 149 passes (62.4%) for 872 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (63.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for -2 yards (-0.3 ypc) last year.  The Browns were somehow 2-2 (50%) as the starting QB for the Browns last year but that was a fluke.  The Browns just couldn’t justify paying a #3 QB what Delhomme was scheduled to make in 2011.  They will go forward with Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace at QB.

RB Earnest Byner will always be remembered in Cleveland Browns’ history for what happened in Denver back on January 17, 1988.  That was the game with the moniker of “The Fumble” as he fumbled the ball late in the game deep in Broncos’ territory to lock up another Super Bowl appearance for the Broncos.  A closer look at the stats from that AFC Championship Game shows that Byner had a really good game before the fumble.  He carried the ball 15 times for 67 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 120 yards (17.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  But in the end, the Browns lost 38-33 to the Broncos in Denver that day.

Owner Art Modell never seemed to forgive him for “The Fumble” as the Browns dealt Byner to the Redskins for fellow RB Mike Oliphant.  Oliphant played in 18 games in his two years with the Browns and he carried the ball 15 times for 97 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) and he returned 5 kickoffs for 69 yards (13.8 avg) with the Browns.  Earnest Byner played five years for the Redskins before returning to the Browns as a free agent in 1994.  Byner made it to 2 Pro Bowls and he helped the Redskins win a Super Bowl in his five years in the nation’s capital.  Byner played in 80 games in his five years with the Redskins and he carried the ball 990 times for 3,950 yards (4.0 ypc) with 25 TD runs.  He also caught 185 passes for 1,577 yards (8.5 ypc) with 4 TD grabs with the Redskins.  This was one of the worst trades in Cleveland Browns’ history.

Earnest Byner came to the Cleveland Browns in 1984 as a 10th round draft pick.  In his second year with the Browns, Byner played in 16 games (13 starts) in which he carried the ball 244 times for 1,002 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 45 passes for 460 yards (10.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs in 1985.  Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner both rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1985 for the Browns!  Byner played in 99 games in his 7 years with the Browns and he carried the ball 862 times for 3,364 yards (3.9 ypc) with 27 TD runs.  He also caught 276 passes for 2,630 yards (9.5 avg) with 10 TD grabs for the Browns.  Byner finished up his career with the Browns #7 in team history in rushing yards with 3,364.  He also finished #7 in TD runs in Browns’ history with 27 of them.  Byner is tied for 13th in Browns’ history in receptions (276) with Dennis Northcutt and he is also #21 in receiving yards with 2,630 in team history.

Byner came back to the Browns in 1994 and 1995.  He had a great game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the last home game in Browns’ history at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.  The Browns won the game 26-10 as Byner carried the ball 31 times for 121 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 36 yards (5.1 avg) in that game.  Byner then did a victory lap around the stadium before heading to the locker room. 

Earnest Byner was a good RB who always gave the Browns or any team he played with 100% every game.  So he made a big mistake in a big game……a lot of players in NFL history have done that.