The Cleveland Browns signed former Cleveland Browns RB Brandon Jackson to a one-year deal Thursday.  After missing all of 2011 with a toe injury, the 27 year old Jackson roared back in 2012 with 54 yards rushing and 2 catches for 20 yards.  Somehow teams were able to lay off the Unrestricted Free Agent long enough for the Browns to pick him back up, however, so the 3 headed monster of Richardson-Hardesty-Jackson can continue to eat opponents alive.

In other news, Eric Hagg was released.  After winning the starting Free Safety job to start last season, Hagg embarked on a freefall spiral downwards that would've made OJ jealous.  He will now be available for day labor such as yard work and painting.

Per everybody on Twitter, Carlos Carrasco has received an eight-game suspension for Tuesday night's beaning of Kevin Youkilis immediately following a Robinson Cano home run. Carrasco had just returned from a five-game suspension he received for throwing at Billy Butler of the Royalson July 29, 2011. Carrasco must be on the Major League roster to serve the suspension and is eligible to pitch for Triple-A Columbus.

Carrasco was also fined $3,000 and will ask the Major League Baseball Players' Association to appeal on his behalf.

The implications of the suspension could be particularly hurtful to the Indians. With Ubaldo Jimenez struggling and Brett Myers looking like a DFA candidate sometime within the next two months, the Indians would have to go with a 24-man roster for eight games while Carrasco served his suspension if they needed him down the road. For all intents and purposes, that pretty much leaves Carrasco out of the fold until September when rosters expand. The games must be served concurrently.

In other roster news today, the Indians recalled Nick Hagadone and optioned out Corey Kluber. Jason Giambi was activated from the disabled list, while Matt Albers was placed on paternity leave.

The Cleveland Browns added to their depth at wide receiver on Monday, signing unrestricted free agent David Nelson to a reported one-year contract.

Nelson is a big target (6-foot-5 and 214 pounds) and, more importantly, was second in receptions for the Buffalo Bills in 2010 and 2011. For his NFL career, he has 94 receptions for 1,042 yards and eight touchdowns.

In their rankings of free agent wide receivers, Pro Football Focus wrote that Nelson “possesses the kind of size and talent that plenty of personnel people around the league will think they can exploit. ... In 2011, Nelson emerged as one of the leading slot receivers in the league, finishing seventh overall in terms of slot yardage.”

What’s that? You don’t remember seeing Nelson on the field when the Browns took on Buffalo in Week 3?

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Mohamed Massaquoi, the last of the Cleveland Browns ill-fated second round selections from the 2009 NFL Draft, signed a free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday.

The Jaguars reportedly gave Massaquoi  a two-year deal worth up to $4.7 million. In four years with the Browns, Massaquoi had 118 receptions for 1,745 yards and seven touchdowns. He never had more than 36 receptions in a single year (his second), 624 receiving yards or three touchdowns (both in his rookie year). By comparison, Josh Gordon, a second-round supplemental pick, had 50 receptions for 805 yards and five touchdowns in his rookie season in 2012.

Massaquoi also suffered from knee and hamstring injuries, as well as a concussion delivered by Pittsburgh's James Harrison, but in the end he just wasn't very good - especially for someone drafted in the second round.

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The Cleveland Browns continued the roster purge on Tuesday, releasing linebacker Chris Gocong and free safety Usama Young.  

With Young’s release, third-year safety Eric Hagg currently sits at the top of the depth chart at free safety (unless you prefer Tashaun Gibson, that is). At Gocong’s position, the team has undrafted free agents Craig Robertson and L.J. Fort.

Luckily, the Browns don’t play a game until September so they have some time to work this all out.

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The Cleveland Browns missed out on a chance to strengthen their secondary as free agent cornerback Brent Grimes reportedly agreed on Saturday to a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

While it is disappointing as a healthy Grimes would have looked good in the secondary opposite cornerback Joe Haden, it is by no means the end of the world for the Browns.

First off, there is no guarantee that Grimes will be able to return to his former level as he is still recovering from the Achilles tear that knocked him out for the 2012 season in the opening game. While Grimes, who will turn 30 this year, told The Sun-Sentinel that he is “100 percent confident that I’ll be healthy in no time,” the reality is that players often struggle to return – especially at a position like defensive back that requires sudden stops, turns and other moves that stress the legs.

The Browns reportedly offered Grimes a contract for more than one year, but Grimes decided to bet on himself and sign a one-year deal with the Dolphins. If he can show he is the same player as he was in 2011 – when he was the third-best cornerback in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus – then Grimes can hit the free agent market again and look for a bigger payday.

That’s why it was smart for the Browns to offer a multi-year deal. If it turns out that Grimes was able to play at (or near) his previous level, the Browns would have prepaid for a second year of good play at a discounted price, rather than assuming the majority of the risk on a one-year deal.

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The Cleveland Browns reportedly held a private workout today with Arkansas State safety Don Jones.

Jones had what can best be described as an interesting career with the Red Wolves. He originally was recruited as a running back but left the school after his redshirt freshman year because of academic reasons.

After spending a season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Jones returned to Arkansas State – but this time as a linebacker. He finished his senior season with 54 tackles and added eight more in Arkansas State’s win over Kent State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.

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The Cleveland Browns added another cornerback in free agency on Monday – and, no, it wasn’t Brent Grimes.

Instead it was Kevin Barnes who signed a one-year deal with the Browns. Barnes played two games with Detroit last season before the Lions – who have one of the worst defensive backfields in the NFL – released him.

Barnes was originally a third-round draft pick by Washington in the 2009 NFL Draft. He has played in 31 games (making three starts) and has 44 career tackles, three interceptions and nine passes defensed.

He appeared in 15 games with the Redskins as their slot conerback in 2011, a season that saw him give up 12 yards per catch from the slot. Pro Football Focus also ranked him 86 out of 98 cornerbacks that season.

If you are scoring at home, that’s not good.

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The Cleveland Browns added two players in free agency on Friday, signing tight end Kellen Davis and cornerback Chris Owens.

Both players reportedly signed one-year deals and both add depth at areas where the Browns can use it.

Davis, who is 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, started for Chicago the past two years and has spent his entire NFL career with the Bears after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 draft out of Michigan State. He was released after the Bears signed Martellus Bennett.

He had career “highs” in 2012 with 19 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns. He had eight drops on just 44 attempts – or one fewer than wide receiver Greg Little, who was targeted 87 times.

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The Phil Dawson era came to a predictable end on Tuesday as the veteran kicker reportedly signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

The signing ends Dawson’s 14-year career with the Cleveland Browns. He made his final season in Brown and Orange his best as he earned his first Pro Bowl appearance after making 93.5 percent of his field-goal attempts – the second-best percentage in the NFL.

“Hey, Cleveland. Thank you for a tremendous ride,” Dawson wrote on his Twitter account. “Your love, support & encouragement have blessed me deeply. Playing for you has been one of the great joys of my life and I wish you all the best.”

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