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Cleveland Browns Free Agency Live Blog (Day 4) - Rumors, Signings, and More

By Chris Pokorny Updated
USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to another day of free agency! I picked the right time not to host a live blog on Thursday, because not a single move happened involving the Cleveland Browns. Today, I will go back to a live blog of sorts, as I expect a few more of the 'big-name players' left on the market to go to other teams.

You should also use the comments section as your free agency open thread! (Newest updates will be at the top of the live blog below)

Browns Free Agency Live Blog

6:08 PM: As most of you know by now, the big story is that Elvis Dumervil was released because his contract wasn't finalized on time. Big mess up from someone there, and it costs both sides. It'll be interesting to see if another team tries to make a play for him now. Browns fans are psyched about the "fantasy" of having him in Cleveland.

3:42 PM: Not much news, although Elvis Dumervil just restructured his deal so that he could remain a member of the Broncos.

1:28 PM: It's official, Geoff Schwartz is officially a member of the Chiefs. The fantasy is dead.

12:50 PM: A lot of Browns fans were intrigued by the thought of having Geoff Schwartz play next to his brother, Mitchell Schwartz. A couple of hours ago, Adam Schefter tweeted that Geoff is close to signing with the Kansas City Chiefs:

12:35 PM: There's a very interesting situation developing in New England:

That would be tough for Pittsburgh to swallow, and New England could structure it like Schefter stated to prevent Pittsburgh from being able to match it without a lot of restructuring. A third-round pick is hit-or-miss, and Pittsburgh would be losing a quality receiver.

12:32 PM: Either Joshua Cribbs really has a lot of people "playing along" with him in an attempt to drive up some offer from Cleveland, or he really is leaving. It's confusing. He has said his goodbye on Twitter, and several players have tweeted that they will miss him. Dan Gilbert tweeted it too. I think a lot of fans think he's officially a member of the Cardinals, but he's not. I still don't know why Arizona needs him with Patrick Peterson on their roster. I'm holding off my goodbye until his agent announces something.

12:24 PM: What other tight end candidates are there besides Davis? Not many. Brandon Myers is pretty much it, in terms of starter-quality talent. The next best guy? Benjamin Watson, who said his goodbye to Cleveland on Twitter a couple of days ago. It's hard to say whether the Browns would have an interest in bringing him back, or just stick with Jordan Cameron at that point. Other lower-name free agents no one is talking about include Kevin Boss, Chris Cooley, Dallas Clark, and a bunch of blockers.

12:10 PM: The two positions everybody is wondering about with Cleveland are tight end and cornerback. Reports on Thursday said that the battle for Fred Davis seemed to be between two teams -- the Redskins (the team he has been with) and the Browns (the team that is 'close to home'). People thought the Browns were ahead in the stakes because of the Redskins' cap situation, but Fred Greetham of The OBR indicates that Washington is trying to do something about that:

Coming off of an injury-plagued season, Washington might only be looking to clear cap space in 2013 only. Why? Because despite the fact that Dustin Keller played in 70 straight games before getting hurt last year, his injury status must have still played a role in teams not wanting to risk a lucrative contract on him for years to come:

Keller's deal is reportedly worth $4.25 million. Davis might be in a similar boat: prove that he can bounce back on a one-year deal, so that he can make Jared Cook-money when he becomes a free agent in 2014. The fact that he hasn't signed elsewhere leads me to believe that he's waiting for Washington to clear enough cap space to come back one more year.

12:00 PM: In a moment, I will highlight a few notes about players around the NFL today. First, I want to mention a couple of things that Joe Banner said during Desmond Bryant's press conference on Thursday. He was asked if the signings of Bryant and Paul Kruger would be "the most significant" signings for the Browns, to which he replied:

"You mean in free agency? I think these will be the biggest moves we'll make. If we are as lucky in getting what we want they won't be the last moves we'll make, but they'll be the biggest we’ll make."

Banner also commented that he was surprised by the number of lower-level players who were making decisions to sign somewhere so early in the process:

"...I was surprised by some of the less expensive and minimal salary players that were signing so quickly. You usually see them wait. Maybe some of the better players at their position sign and the demand for them would increase a little so that surprised me a little bit."

It's hard to quantify what another "big signing" for the Browns would be. Personally, I'd think that Fred Davis would qualify as a semi-big signing in terms of a contract. I'll get to the latest on him in just a moment.

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