Written by Rich Swerbinsky

---

Already with LeCharles Bentley, Kevin Shaffer, Joe Jurevicius, and Dave Zastudil in the fold ... Browns general manager Phil Savage struck again today, filling a huge need with the signing of veteran nose tackle Ted Washington.

This was reported exclusively by our friends at The Orange And Brown Report , who have been tracking the negotiations with Big Ted since free agency opened yesterday.  The OBR's John Taylor is reporting that the Browns have signed Washington to a two year deal worth between 6.5 and 7.0 million dollars. 

Washington immediately becomes the teams starting nose tackle, and will be the man in the middle of the teams 3-4 defensive scheme.  Ted is a veteran of 13 NFL seasons, having played with San Francisco, Denver, Buffalo, Chicago, New England, and Oakland.  He's been to four Pro Bowls, and even at age 38 is still renowned as one of the top run stoppers in all of football.  He's started all sixteen games each of the past two seasons with Oakland.

Washington has a connection with Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, having played for him in 2003 as a member of Crennel's defense that season.  In The OBR's column, Washington's agent tells Taylor that Crennel's presence, as well as the teams desire to win now were the main reason he chose Cleveland from his multiple suitors.

The Browns still have holdovers Jason Fisk, Ethan Kelley, and Nick Eason ... who all will now battle to back up Washington in the teams rotation at nose tackle.  The signing also gives the Browns more flexibility in the coming NFL Draft, where they may have been forced to go defensive tackle at #12 overall due to their dearth of talent at the position.

The Browns are off to an increidble start in free agency, landing four big name players before most teams have inked a single one.  And they're still not done.  Rumors continue to persist that the Browns could sign a couple additional defensive players this evening or tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned to Swerbs Blurbs for all the latest.