What to Expect from Each AFC North Team in 2012 NFL Free Agency

We're just under 24 hours into NFL free agency, and the four teams in the AFC North have yet to make any notable news.

That's not reason to panic, despite the Cleveland Browns and especially Cincinnati Bengals having a lot of money they can spend this offseason.

Taking a measured approach to free agency keeps teams from overpaying for big names, though it also comes with the caveat that the big names will likely be out of play by the time they're looking to make additions.

Big names aren't everything when it comes to free agency—it's also about finding those perfect pieces to fill roster deficiencies and doing so at the right price. However, if any team could have benefited from making a splash early on, it would be the Cleveland Browns.

It's not as though all the notable free agents are off the board at this early stage in the game—there were, after all, around 600 free agents who hit the market on Tuesday afternoon.

But with around $15 million in cap space to spend (less cash needed for this year's rookies), they could have afforded to take a stab at a player like right tackle Eric Winston, who might have generated too much interest for the Browns to be in real contention for his services.

The Bengals have around $40 million they can play with this year, but they have a more complete team than the Browns and don't need to make any big-name free agency signings if they so choose.

They'll need to take a look at cornerbacks, running backs and perhaps a receiver, and offensive line is still in play though the draft could be the more fruitful place to find talent and value.

Both the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are going to play free agency relatively safe. This is nothing new for the Steelers, who generally make small, need-based free-agent acquisitions, but it's doubly the case this year with their salary cap issues.

The Ravens have more room to maneuver and have already expressed interest in bringing on a wide receiver with return skills if the reports linking them to Eddie Royal and Ted Ginn, Jr. are to be believed.

However, they have a number of in-house free agents they are trying to hold on to, like cornerback Lardarius Webb, and deals they'd like to make with franchise-tagged running back Ray Rice and quarterback Joe Flacco that will eat into much of their available cap space.

The AFC North is never the most active division in free agency, and so far this year, nothing has changed.

We were all somewhat spoiled by the flurry of activity in last year's lockout-truncated free agency period in which teams were making moves so quickly it was nearly impossible to keep up.

But this year can take on the more leisurely pace of free agencies past, and as such, the AFC North will return to their cautious, spendthrift ways, making only the most necessary of additions—whether that means bringing in "name" guys or lesser-known players—on their own terms.

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