According to reports, first round selection CB Joe Haden has agreed to terms on a five-year $50 million deal.  The deal, which has $26 million guaranteed as well as a $12 million bonus, means that all the Browns rookie draft picks are now under contract.

In other news, second round pick RB Montario Hardesty will be out “a couple of weeks” after he twisted his knee Thursday.  Hardesty was expected to compete with RB Jerome Harrison for the teams starting running back gig this season.  Though the injury won’t sideline Hardesty long-term, which is good, it certainly gives Harrison “the leg [...]

The Cleveland Browns have come to terms on four-year deals with two more draft picks today – running back Montario Hardesty and safety T.J. Ward. With the team’s first full-squad practice on Saturday, the only unsigned draft pick is now first-round cornerback Joe Haden. The rookies reported last Friday, but it is nice to see that, as of now, all but one of the draft picks will be in camp.
Both Hardesty and Ward are expected to make contributions as rookies.
It’s also time to see if Haden truly wants to be in camp when it starts.

Earlier this month, rookie cornerback Joe Haden’s agent, Malik Shareef, explained that his client had no intentions of holding out. It was – and, for all intents and purposes, still is – his desire to make it to training camp on time without the mess that a holdout can sometimes create.
This, however, is something fans hear every year. Of course every player wants to be in camp on time, but every player also wants to get paid. Like every top-ten draft pick, Haden and his agent will look at a number of factors, including what players in his position (seventh [...]

It looks like 1st round pick Joe Haden is intent on getting a deal done before training camp begins.  Haden’s agent, Malik Shareef, was quoted as saying that:
Our main objective is to get Joe in camp on time so he can perform to the best of his abilities. A holdout would not be in anyone’s best interests.
Shareef also said that he has been in contact with the team and that he expects to begin negotiating as soon as next week.
Haden is expected to compete against both Sheldon Brown and Eric Wright for a starting corner spot.  But even if he [...]

Clifton Geathers, the 6-7, 300 lb behemoth on the defensive line, has signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Browns, making him the first of the team’s eight 2010 NFL Draft picks to sign with the team. The huge defensive lineman was the team’s last draft pick, coming to the Browns in the sixth round.
Geathers brings a lot of size and length to the defensive line, but he is a raw player that carries some of that baggage in the form of his personal conduct. He says what’s on his mind, which will always be entertaining, but he was suspended [...]

As reported earlier today, LB D’Qwell Jackson signed his one year-tender, as did the remaining four, including RB Jerome Harrison, FB Lawrence Vickers,  LB Matt Roth, and S Abe Elam.
Had the five RFA’s not signed their respective deals by 11:59 pm Tuesday, they would have lost out on over $1 million each.  All but Roth will make $1.759 million next year; Roth, coming off his fifth season in the NFL, signed his deal worth $1.809 million.
Since the end of last season, the Browns have upgraded the positions which the former RFA’s play.  Harrison, Vickers, and Roth played extremely well down the [...]

With the deadline to sign the one-year tender offered to the Browns’ restricted free agents coming at 11:59 pm tonight, linebacker D’Qwell Jackson has ended his holdout and signed the contract. If he didn’t, his offer would have been reduced to only 10% above his 2009 base salary.
If Jackson can stay healthy, he helps with the depth of the linebacker position. He’s most likely going to want a big contract after this season, so it will be interesting to see what the team will eventually do with him.

It has been well documented the past couple of days that RB Jerome Harrison is in fact the only RFA who has been at the team’s OTA’s.  Though he still has yet to sign his tender, Harrison offered up a little hint as to his intensons:
“I just really like it in Cleveland. I like the fans. I like the people. I’ve built a lot of relationships with my teammates. That’s why I’m just going to keep playing football.”
Harrison returned to camp after some advice from one of his youngest fans, his 8-year old niece, who told him:
“Uncle J, just go [...]

It looks like the longer that the Browns’ restricted free agents wait to sign contracts, the lower their 2010 salaries might be. Browns GM Tom Heckert has mentioned that the team has considered reducing tender offers if players don’t show up by June 15th. The Browns’ restricted free agents – Jerome Harrison, Lawrence Vickers, D’Qwell Jackson, Abe Elam, and Matt Roth – could opt to sit out the team’s minicamps and workouts, but they all risk losing a substantial amount of money if they do so.
This doesn’t mean the Browns wouldn’t want to potentially offer these players long-term deals in [...]

So the Browns have signed QB Jake Delhomme to a two-year deal, a contract signed before Delhomme could even meet with the New Orleans Saints. The depth chart now contains Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, and, for the time being, Brady Quinn. The Browns were shopping Quinn even before the signing of Delhomme, so one has to believe that will intensify now.
If you somehow found a way to be excited about this signing, let me know.