That list we could fill some needs from *if some become FAs*. Sean Smith, Derrick Cox, DRC, Michael Johnson (Bengals almost never pay their FA), Daryl Smith. The list of FAs is solid this year, you can't fix everything in the draft.

@tampadawgs said:

Here is the Top 50 FA coming your way....

uh, can you not post a 12 page scroll down list?

fuck Free agency. heckert has done good by us and the holy dollar bill bottom line.

linebacker, linebacker, linebacker. draft.

then corner and safety.

our D is 2 steps away from being the best in the league.

no receivers. gordon and little will be lighting it up next year once our old rookie QB settles down a piece and plays like the coaches think he can play.

guarantee= next year without any major changes we go 'at least' 9-7.

It's a good place to find decent plug in linemen and sometimes workman like backers and kickers.

By all means we should explore FA, but as a rule you win through the draft.

@the-gipper said:

Ugly...obviously the best on there is Flacco, and he probably won't be leaving Baltimore. Given this list, I will stick with Weeden and McCoy. (and somebody that knows how to coach them)

for sure. Lots of crap out there.

@tampadawgs said:

Weeden will be fine, but since everyone on this board wants a new QB every year, here yoiu go this yrs FA coming your way...

Luke McCown – ATL

Joe Flacco – BAL

Tarvaris Jackson – BUF

Tyler Thigpen – BUF

Derek Anderson – CAR

Jason Campbell – CHI

Josh McCown – CHI

Bruce Gradkowski – CIN

Drew Stanton – IND

Brady Quinn – KC

Pat Devlin – MIA – (Ex)

Matt Moore – MIA

Chase Daniel – NO

David Carr – NYG

Matt Leinart – OAK

Charlie Batch – PIT

Byron Leftwich – PIT

Kellen Clemens – STL

Rex Grossman – WAS

Ugly...obviously the best on there is Flacco, and he probably won't be leaving Baltimore. Given this list, I will stick with Weeden and McCoy. (and somebody that knows how to coach them)

Player

Team

Pos

Age

1. Ryan Clady

Broncos

OT

26

2. Jairus Byrd

Bills

S

26

3. Victor Cruz (Restricted)

Giants

WR

26

4. Andre Smith

Bengals

OT

26

5. Dwayne Bowe

Chiefs

WR

28

6. Henry Melton

Bears

DT

26

7. Greg Jennings

Packers

WR

29

8. Wes Welker

Patriots

WR

32

9. Andy Levitre

Bills

G

27

10. Joe Flacco

Ravens

QB

28

11. Sebastian Vollmer

Patriots

OT

28

12. Michael Bennett

Buccaneers

DE

27

13. Anthony Spencer

Cowboys

OLB

29

14. Steven Jackson

Rams

RB

30

15. Branden Albert

Chiefs

OT

28

16. Jake Long

Dolphins

OT

28

17. Brent Grimes

Falcons

CB

30

18. Mike Wallace

Steelers

WR

26

19. Dashon Goldson

49ers

S

28

20. Randy Starks

Dolphins

DT

29

21. Martellus Bennett

Giants

TE

26

22. Will Beatty

Giants

OT

28

23. Richard Seymour

Raiders

DT

33

24. Phil Loadholt

Vikings

OT

27

25. Aqib Talib

Patriots

CB

27

26. Jermon Bushrod

Saints

OT

29

27. Danny Amendola

Rams

WR

27

28. William Moore

Falcons

S

28

29. Kenny Phillips

Giants

S

26

30. Heath Miller

Steelers

TE

30

31. Tony Gonzalez

Falcons

TE

37

32. Philip Wheeler

Raiders

OLB

28

33. Ed Reed

Ravens

S

34

34. Chris Houston

Lions

CB

28

35. Gosder Cherilus

Lions

OT

29

36. Cliff Avril

Lions

DE

26

37. Alan Branch

Seahawks

DT

28

38. Ryan Lilja

Chiefs

G

31

39. Michael Johnson

Bengals

DE

26

40. Jason Jones

Seahawks

DT

27

41. Daryl Smith

Jaguars

OLB

31

42. Desmond Bryant

Raiders

DT

27

43. Brian Hartline

Dolphins

WR

26

44. Leodis McKelvin

Bills

CB

27

45. Danario Alexander (Restricted)

Chargers

WR

25

46. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Eagles

CB

27

47. Reggie Bush

Dolphins

RB

28

48. Osi Umenyiora

Giants

DE

31

49. Dwight Freeney

Colts

DE

33

50. Brian De La Puente (Restricted)

Saints

C

28

Luke McCown – ATL

Joe Flacco – BAL

Tarvaris Jackson – BUF

Tyler Thigpen – BUF

Derek Anderson – CAR

Jason Campbell – CHI

Josh McCown – CHI

Bruce Gradkowski – CIN

Drew Stanton – IND

Brady Quinn – KC

Pat Devlin – MIA – (Ex)

Matt Moore – MIA

Chase Daniel – NO

David Carr – NYG

Matt Leinart – OAK

Charlie Batch – PIT

Byron Leftwich – PIT

Kellen Clemens – STL

Rex Grossman – WAS

I want to puke thinking about another 5 years of rebuilding after the new regime comes in and cans everybody.

Hopefully somebody will think a touch of consistency might be a good thing, ya think?

But we already have two competent backup quarterbacks. Why trade for another?

WSS

@dab7291993 said:

I don't like free agent QB's but I like it for every other position.

Browns should seriously consider to fill some of the holes they have in FA.

WR

G

CB

FS

LB

DE

FB

aren't all gonna be filled in the draft. We don't have to rush it and try to contend next season but I'm not waiting 2-3 years to see a team that I can bare watching.

It's got to be a mix of drafting and FA

We quietly sign a FA or two every year, they just arent the big name players who get overpaid and a lot of the time end up disappointing (example Ray Edwards the former Falcon). Frostee Rucker and J. Parker have been solid for us this year, not long term solutions but are doing a decent job for their price. Usama Young was another FA starter (although I realize he probably shouldnt be a starter). John Greco has been helpful with the depth at the Oline. Ben Watson is another guy who has been a significant FA signing by Heckert to fill a starting role. One of the problems with free agency is that after a player's rookie contract many of them are 26 years old, and the majority of prolific players in their rookie contracts are extended by their teams and dont really hit free agency until they are in their late 20's. And lets face it, in the NFL if you are in your late 20s you may very well have past your peak.

I like what Heckert has been doing, use free agency to fill positions of need without taking a huge financial risk and maintaining cap flexibility to extend young players that have proven (or at least hinted) that they can be successful in our system. I agree that we should try to go out and sign 3 FA starters this offseason and upgrade a few postitions, but anyone who thinks being a consistent big spender in free agency in the NFL is just ignorant of how the league works.

Browns should seriously consider to fill some of the holes they have in FA.

WR

G

CB

FS

LB

DE

FB

aren't all gonna be filled in the draft. We don't have to rush it and try to contend next season but I'm not waiting 2-3 years to see a team that I can bare watching.

It's got to be a mix of drafting and FA

Unless we trade for someones backup, we will still jave Weeden next year. No one in the draft is worth a crap or atleast no one is going to be better then what we have now.

Look at Buffalo and Mario Williams damn did i want him last offseason but the price he got and what hes done its not worth it...

Any smart GM will tell you that F/A is where you find you bargain players and the guys you need to fill out your roster, to be elite you need to hit on your high draft picks....Every now and then you may have to sign a big time F/A but thats when your near the Top of the League and feel your ready to get to the Super Bowl thats the only time you go that route...

@horn-of-lake-erie said:

All I feel like anyone in Browns nation talks about is the draft.

"We will have to stick with W/M at QB because there is nothing in the draft this year"

"It looks like we have another 3 years to rebuild."

Have we all lost sight of the fact that free agency exists in this league and the fact that we have an owner that actually has a interest in creating a winning team? Serious contenders in this league use free agency to fill in gaps. This year we overhauled the team with good, young talent. Now is the time to begin filling in the holes via free agency and our top draft pick. First priorities are LB, G, and QB. Where should our first look be in order to fill in these gaps? I argue free agency.

Adding a QB via free agency is dangerous. It's worked out, but often times that's for teams that have talent abundant in other positions but just can't quite turn the corner, a la Denver. It's possible to find that diamond in the rough, but very, very unlikely.

Take a look at the starting FA Qb's this year so far. I divided them up into categories:

You have your big name FA's who sat behind and learned from a great QB and would no doubt change the face of whichever franchise they went to.

Matt Cassel, KC- 1,796 yards 58.1% completion 6 TD's 12 INT's. Lost starting job to Brady Quinn

Matt Flynn, SEA- 68 yards 58.6% 0 TD 0 INT. Lost starting job to Russell Wilson.

Kevin Kolb, ARI- 1169 yard 59.6% completion 8 TD 3 INT. Can't stay on the field.

You have your middle of the road QB's, nothing special but are capable of putting together solid games from time to time.

Brady Quinn, KC- 794 yard 60.6% completion 2 TD 5 INT.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF- 2,718 yards 62.3% completion 21 TD 13 INT.

Chad Henne, JAX- 1,217 yards 51.6 completion 8 TD 5 INT

And you have your big name guys who had success with other franchises and would be a blessing to whatever crappy team they signed with.

Jay Cutler, CHI- 2,495 yards 59.8% completion 16 TD 13 INT

Michael Vick, PHI- 2,165 yards 58.5 completion 11 TD 9 INT. Can't stay on the field.

And then you have your Drew Brees's and your Peyton Mannings. One was a lock for the HOF before going to one team, and the other was a relative no-namer who wasn't anything exceptional.

I'm not entirely sure who's in the FA market this year for QB, but I'm sure someone will post that and then you tell me what categories you think each of those QB's fits in.

also overpaying

draft is the way to build your team