On a first beautiful Sunday morning of the new year, and with the Cavs' first playoff game today and the NFL draft less than a week away now, let's take a look at some tidbits regarding the Cleveland Browns from the past few days:
- Steinbach's Surgery: I'm sure everyone felt a knot in their stomach after hearing that offensive lineman Eric Steinbach had surgery suddenly to have his appendix removed on Wednesday. Steinbach is the Browns' biggest free-agent signing this offseason, and is comparable to the type of signing that LeCharles Bentley was last season. In Steinbach's case, he is supposedly having the surgery "at the right time". Steinbach will be limited in his offseason conditioning drills for the next three to six weeks, but he should be 100% by June's minicamp.
- Bentley's Update: Speaking of Bentley, the decision on him having a third surgery on a torn patella tendon is still "up in the air." A decision will officially be made by May or June. If he has the surgery, he will miss the entire 2007 season. If he doesn't have the surgery, there's still a chance that he won't be able to return.
- Browns Make Signings: The Browns brought back defensive lineman Ethan Kelley, signing him to a one-year deal. Then, the Browns signed free-agent fullback Alan Ricard and free-agent tight end Ryan Krause to one-year deals. Ricard's signing makes sense, since he blocked for running back Jamal Lewis for five seasons. He was also Lewis' fullback the year when he broke the single-game rushing record against us. Ricard will battle Lawrence Vickers for the starting role, although I expect both guys to make the final roster.