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Monday night, the Cleveland Browns announced the signing of veteran kicker Shayne Graham, making him the second, but only experienced, kicker on the roster. Graham was 31-of-38 for the Houston Texans last year and has been in the league for a long time. Here are the terms of the deal:
#Browns signed kicker Shayne Graham Monday night. One year deal, vet minimum of $940,000. They could still sign Kevin Harper after draft.
— Jeff Schudel (@jsbrownsinsider) April 16, 2013
The signing of Graham likely confirms what was long speculated: it was Phil Dawson's decision to sign with a team besides Cleveland despite having played here since 1999. Yes, he was paid more money by San Francisco at $2.5 million, while Graham is only getting the veteran minimum.
It is possible that the Browns just wanted a veteran kicker available for their offseason training programs and that they will opt for a younger kicker once the regular season begins. At the moment, though, it might be fair to say that Graham will be the Browns' kicker in 2013. He's no Dawson, but Graham has also been pretty reliable over the years.