Written by Thomas Moore

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The Cleveland Browns – much like the Cleveland Indians before them – are doing things in free agency.

And, just like the moves that the Tribe made, it remains to be seen if the new acquisitions are going to make a difference as the Browns continue to rebuild the team and try to become a relevant player in the AFC North Division.

By focusing their efforts on the defensive side of the ball with Paul Kruger, Desmond Bryant and Quentin Groves, the Browns brought in players at key spots to give new defensive coordinator Ray Horton options for his defense.

“I think if we keep building the defense the way we are, it’s like that pyramid system where you keep stacking blocks on top and you get to the top and you’ve got that pinnacle of players or player that’s your leader,” Horton said on the team’s website. “One of those guys is D’Qwell (Jackson), and I think bringing Paul Kruger in, that’s another where he’s been there and done that. That adds instant credibility in the locker room, on the field, for the opponents that the Cleveland Browns are going to get quality, good football players.”

The addition of Bryant to the defensive front gives the Browns something they haven’t had in ... well, we’re not sure, let’s say quite a while, which is depth. As of today, the Browns have a six-man rotation on the defensive line and Bryant, at age 27, is the oldest player among the group.

In one of those Only in Cleveland moments, seeing the Browns build depth at a critical position is confusing to some, but it really shouldn’t be. One thing you can count on in the NFL is injuries – just last year Phil Taylor missed eight games with a torn pectoral muscle, while Ahtyba Rubin missed three with an ankle injury. Guys are going to get hurt and having a deep position group can never be a bad thing.

Thankfully CEO Joe Banner seems to get it.

“Our purpose has been to put together a really strong unit and have some depth so we can rotate if we have any injuries the line will still be one of the primary assets of the team,” Banner said during the news conference announcing Bryant’s signing. “That’s what we feel like we are achieving. We are not looking to be trading anybody.”

The other reason is that defenses across the league need to adapt to the changing nature of offensive football across the NFL.

When the Browns were talking with Chip Kelly about leaving Oregon to come and coach the Browns, there was one quote that stood out to us when looking at Kelly’s high-speed offense.

“(Opposing defensive players) talk about throwing up on themselves,” Oregon lineman Ryan Clanton, a redshirt senior, told The Daily Emerald in an article from early in the 2012 season. “That’s just kind of common.”

With more and more NFL offenses looking to speed up the game and put pressure on opposing defenses, having multiple players that can rotate in along the defensive line seems like a pretty good idea.

After all, Horton can’t really build an “attacking defense” if he only has a couple of defensive linemen and they are all too busy throwing up to actually be on the field.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about having the men that we have up front,” Horton said. “One of the first things that jumped out on film when I looked was how these guys run to the ball. They’re all big, strong, tough guys that love football, run to the football, and boy, I’m excited. Everybody, in my opinion, can play football and you can roll guys through. I don’t think we’ll see a drop-off in the talent level. I know you won’t see a drop in effort.”

In a nutshell, depth is never a bad thing.

The same can be said about the linebackers, where the Browns currently go six-deep after adding Kruger as an outside pass rusher and Groves as a veteran who turned his career around under Horton at Arizona and is someone who can help teach Horton’s defensive philosophy.

“It always helps when you know you’re getting good men, good players, good leaders,” Horton said. “You’re looking for that combination, and so, for me, it gives me a little comfort where if a player has a question, sometimes, players don’t want to ask coaches because they want the coach to assume they know everything.

“It’ll help a little bit with Quentin where a young guy may come to him and go, ‘What did he mean by X, Y, and Z?’ and he’ll be able to say, ‘Oh, it’s this.’ It gives you a little bit of that comfort. If something’s going some way, he can vouch a little bit, ‘This is a good system; this works. Just trust him.’ ”

There are still questions around the linebackers, however, as Kruger struggles in the run game (he only played 22 snaps in the Super Bowl because of that) and Horton is not an every-down player. And while it seems likely that Jabaal Sheard can make the transition to an outside linebacker, we won’t really know until he does it, you know?

While the money that the Browns shelled out for Kruger (five years and $40 million with $21 million guaranteed) and Bryant (five years, $34 million with $15 million guaranteed) is certainly not excessive, Kruger’s deal means the Browns will have three of the highest paid linebackers in the NFL in 2013 as Jackson will make $8.5 million and Chris Gocong will bring in $4.2 million.

For that kind of cheddar, the Browns better be giving opposing offenses some long Sunday afternoons.

The Browns also have gotten better in the past week simply because the rest of the teams in the AFC North got worse – most notably Baltimore. In addition to Kruger, the Ravens lost Cary Williams, Bernard Pollard, Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe from their defense (and Ed Reed is probably leaving as well), and Matt Birk and Anquan Boldin from their offense.

Baltimore’s defense wasn’t that good in 2012 – they allowed 344 points (the Browns gave up 368), were 17th in overall defense, and gave up 122.8 rushing yards per game (remember what we said about Kruger and the run game?). So while everyone assumes general manager Ozzie Newsome has some kind of trick up his sleeve, that’s a lot of work that needs to be done.

The Steelers lost James Harrison and Keene Lewis from their defense, as well as Mike Wallace on offense. The Steelers did sign quarterback Bruce Gradkowski (if that excites you) and are kicking the tires on Beanie Wells, hardly moves that are going to keep defensive coordinators up at night.

As usual, the Bengals are being the Bengals, which means they will probably extend their NFL-record streak of not having won a playoff game into the 2013 season.

Even taking all that into consideration, we’re not saying the Browns are the team to beat in the division. They still have plenty of holes to fill (cornerback, tight end, offensive line) and we still don’t know how everyone is going to mesh in a new defensive system as well as Norv Turner’s offensive system. And no one knows how Rob Chudzinski will be as a head coach.

Truly, there are no perfect players in free agency (or else they wouldn’t be free agents, would they?) but it is hard not to feel encouraged by what the Browns did in the opening week. They identified areas of the team that needed help and filled those spots with what should be some solid players.

In the process, the Browns didn’t lose anyone of importance, unless you are pining away for Kaluka Maiava, who signed a three-year deal with Oakland. Maiava was another part of Eric Mangini’s infamous 2009 draft that helped set the Browns back even further.

They also didn’t make any ridiculous deals, like giving Gosder Cherilus a multiyear deal even though he is coming off a Regenokine treatment on his knee, or signing Erik Walden for four years and $16 million, just to name a few.

The Browns also reserved some of their cap space for the second-tier of free agents that are going to be available and desperate in the coming weeks (Phil Dawson is still unsigned, by the way). They are also in a position, if they want, to make a move for Elvis Dumervil now that his new contract with Denver went up bust in a fax mishap.

Don’t forget, the Browns also need to save some money for down the road. Alex Mack’s rookie contract is up after the 2013 season and it would be a very good idea for the Browns to lock him up to a new contract before he can hit free agency. The following year, Joe Haden and T.J. Ward will be ready for their second contracts and the Browns need to save money in case they want to resign them as well.

So no need to blow all the cap space in one year.

Another import fact to remember is that teams that “win” in free agency generally don’t win in the regular season. So while the Dolphins may have grabbed all the headlines, the moves the Browns made leave them in a good place. And there is still the NFL Draft in April to fill some holes.

While the Browns may still be a ways away from a finished – and winning – product, the fact that they are doing things – smart things – in free agency is a big step in the right direction.

(Photos by ClevelandBrowns.com)