5 Impending Free Agents Who Would Be Perfect Fits for the Cleveland Browns

After getting off to a competitive start, fans watched a disappointing end to the Cleveland Browns' 2014 season.

The team's 20-10 Week 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens—a loss that eventually propelled the Ravens into the playoffs—capped off a 7-9 finish for head coach Mike Pettine's club.

With the dreaded "Black Monday" now behind us, the one thing we can be grateful for is Browns owner Jimmy Haslam giving this new regime of Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer another chance to right the ship.

In a perfect world, the Browns would have made it to the postseason behind their young defense and strong rushing attack. But as sad as a 7-9 finish is, it still puts the team in contention to make a play in the AFC North next season if it can hammer out its quarterback situation.

Free agency gives Farmer a golden opportunity to tend the farm a bit. He can use the team's estimated $36.7 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com, to plug a few leaks and set the Browns up for the future.

Checking out a few impending free agents who are expected to test the open market, let's break down five guys who would be a perfect fit for the trials and tribulations of the Dawg Pound.

WR Michael Crabtree

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The Josh Gordon saga that unfolded in 2014 was disheartening to say the least. After serving a lengthy suspension—that was reduced because of the NFL signing a new drug policy midseason—Gordon returned to action in Week 12.

Gordon's production—or lack thereof—wasn't the only cause for concern. Entering the team's final game against the Ravens, NFL.com's Mike Silver reported both him and Johnny Manziel were absent from the Browns' Saturday afternoon walkthrough.

The team took disciplinary action, suspending Gordon for the contest, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.

Based on comments by Farmer, brought to our attention by Kay Cabot, it feels like this could be the end of Gordon's tenure in Cleveland.

In fact, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and the Medina Gazette even tweeted that "sounded to me as if he's about done with Gordon."

Assuming this is the end of the road for Gordon, the Browns need to find an answer at wide receiver. San Francisco 49ers free agent Michael Crabtree could be that guy.

Since the Niners drafted Crabtree in 2009, he's been one of the team's go-to options in the passing game. Though he's only posted one season with over 1,000 yards receiving, he's proven at times to be an effective pass-catcher.

The Browns need to find weapons, and at age 27, Crabtree has youth and experience by his side. He's never going to completely live up to that first-round billing, but he's produced enough over the years to warrant a deal.

It's tough to predict a price range for Crabtree if he leaves San Francisco, but based on his numbers, it shouldn't be astronomical. If the Browns' front office wants to bring in someone to help bolster this corps and his contract winds up being affordable, Crabtree makes a lot of sense.

DT Ndamukong Suh

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

You could argue the biggest "prize" in the free agency pool is also the biggest risk.

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is one of the NFL's top-end defensive players. He's also ran into his fair share of problems on the field—the latest one being the possibility of a one-game suspension for an incident with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Luckily for the Lions Suh's appeal was granted, per the NFL.

That doesn't take away from the fact he's been constantly getting himself into these types of situations. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press actually constructed a timeline that details all of the incidents he's been involved with over the years.

Suh will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and despite those altercations, his performance on the field should warrant serious dollars.

Using Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) data, you'll notice one area the Browns have to improve upon is their defensive line. By their mark, all of the defensive linemen besides John Hughes finished the 2014 season with a negative grade.

Compare that to the positive-28.5 grade Suh generated and you'll see exactly why the Browns need a player like that manning their front.

At this time, there appears to be interest from the Browns. According to Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com, the team has plans to attain his services.

Rumors are rumors at this stage of the game, but it does make sense from an on-field perspective. You simply don't see defensive tackles with that much skill hit the open market very often.

QB Shaun Hill

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This pains me to write, but the Browns have to figure out what's going on with their quarterback situation if they want to contend at all next year.

Brian Hoyer didn't exactly set the world on fire and Johnny Manziel's NFL career is off to a brutal start on and off the field.

Stability is the key to this change.

Looking for a guy who can be relied on to step in if he has to and take the reins, a player the Browns should consider on a low-cost deal is Shaun Hill.

Hill's career has been spent with four teams. The 34-year-old has mainly served as a backup option, but he has started 43 games in 13 seasons, including nine this year with the St. Louis Rams.

Hoyer will be a free agent this offseason and even though his agent Joe Linta said, "He would have no problems coming back as long as it's a fair competition," per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, it's hard to picture him back in Cleveland.

The Browns could use a veteran QB on the roster and because of that Hill makes a lot of sense. He won't cost very much in the grand scheme of things and he can either mentor Manziel or start while the Browns figure out a long-term solution.

To get a better understanding of what you're getting, in the nine starts he made this season, Hill completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,657 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

CB Antonio Cromartie

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Farmer's plan to address the cornerback position past Joe Haden last season came down to a pair of rookie cornerbacks: First-round pick Justin Gilbert and fourth rounder Pierre Desir.

Watching the film, Gilbert struggled to live up to his first-round status and actually wound up getting suspended for the final game of the regular season, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.

Thankfully all hope isn't lost. "I'm hopeful after a full offseason of working with him," Coach Pettine told the media, via Fred Greetham of Fox Sports Ohio.

Desir on the other hand gave us too small of a sample size to really get a great feel for his talents. A lengthy cornerback with good ball skills, PFF (subscription required) counted him on the field for just 120 snaps over the course of 16 games.

That's where a veteran like Antonio Cromartie comes into play. After leaving the New York Jets last offseason, the 30-year-old signed a one-year, $3.25 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

Cromartie played well to start the year, but after suffering an ankle injury he hasn't been able to get back to that level.

The Browns could use a veteran presence in their defensive backfield and Cromartie could be just that. Based on what we've seen him do in Arizona, he definitely has something left in the tank. And because of his age, it would be surprising to see him demand a large contract.

If he leaves the desert, the Browns should pursue his services in the interim while continuing to build on the talents of Desir and Gilbert.

Another interesting side bar is that Cromartie spent time under Coach Pettine's watch from 2010 until 2012 while he served as the defensive coordinator of the Jets.

WR Nate Washington

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Nate Washington is one name to keep an eye out for if the Browns decide they don't want to spend money on a player like Michael Crabtree.

The long-time pass-catcher for the Tennessee Titans has proven over the years to be an effective target. Like Crabtree, Washington has only broken the 1,000-yard mark once in his career, but his 15.3 yards per catch average is actually higher than Crabtree's 12.5 average.

Washington's tenure in a Titans uniform saw him mainly rotating between the right and left side of the field. At 6'1" he's big enough to work outside of the hash marks but his savvy route-running ability allows him to come inside when needed.

You figure at 31 years old his contract should be immensely cheaper than any deal you could strike with Crabtree. And production wise, it may be worth spending less and using the draft to find a true No. 1 target.

Miles Austin being sent to the injured reserved list earlier this year and the uncertainty surrounding Josh Gordon's future has left the door open for Farmer to go out and find answers. Washington may be one of those.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores stats and information come courtesy of ESPN.com. Unless noted otherwise, all free agency information and salary cap numbers via OverTheCap.com.