Cleveland Browns: 15 best free agent acquisitions of all-time

The Cleveland Browns have made some solid moves in free agency throughout their history. Here are the 15 best signings they have made all-time.

Every offseason, free agency rolls around, giving fans hope that their teams will go out and fill the holes on their roster with players looking for new homes. The Cleveland Browns were active in this area in 2018 and should be once again when 2019 NFL Free Agency opens at 4:00 p.m. EST on March 13.

While there’s always a lot of excitement surrounding the players who find their new home, the moves don’t always work out. There are long lines of busts throughout the years and the poor Browns have been on the wrong side of many of those moves.

However, they’ve also had their share of hits and the new regime led by general manager John Dorsey seems to be making the right moves. That gives us hope for the future that the Browns will start to have more wins than losses in terms of acquiring talent in the open market.

And with all that being said, we look over the course of the Browns’ history and shine a spotlight on the 15 best free agent signings in team history.

Also, as a side note, for the purposes of these rankings, we are looking at players who were signed during NFL free agency after starting their career with another team. That means some of the big undrafted free agents or stars signed from other leagues early in the team’s history will not be included.

This one may feel a bit premature since Terrance Mitchell has only played eight games as a Brown, but he showed why John Dorsey brought him over from the Kansas City Chiefs. Mitchell is a physical corner who has no problems using his hands in coverage.

That does get him in trouble sometimes, but it can also frustrate opposing wideouts. We saw this during Hard Knocks, as Mitchell and Jarvis Landry came to blows during one practice, as the wide receiver grew tired of Mitchell’s aggressive ways.

Once the season started, “Money Mitch” continued to play his style of defense, and it had great results — despite his season being shortened by a broken forearm suffered in Week 4. He finished the year with 38 tackles, six pass defenses, one interception and two forced fumbles.

Mitchell was always around the ball and kept making plays. Heading into his second season with the Browns, he looks to move even higher up this list.