NFL Free Agents 2011: Can Cleveland Browns Sign Anyone to Keep Up in AFC North?

After the NFL lockout finally came to an end, the entire country was excited to see what a chaotic free agency would bring their favorite team.

The city of Cleveland was no different, as fans salivated at the chance for their Browns to swipe up some of the incredible talent that was made available in the offseason.

The Browns had a lot of holes to fill after the draft, with linebacker and wide receiver most likely topping the list of necessities.

As free agency began and some of the bigger-name free agents were getting picked up, Cleveland was nowhere to be seen.

Some of the top talent that was on the board, including Sidney Rice, Barret Ruud, Ray Edwards and Charles Johnson (all players linked to the Browns) were being signed by opposing teams.

It seemed that Browns general manager Tom Heckert had no plans of signing big-name free agents, but instead building a winning team through the draft.

Cleveland opted to stick with the players that they already had in place and implementing Shurmur's West Coast offense, as well as the 4-3 defense, with them.

One of the reasons this happened was the fact that the team had little time to teach the new offense and defense to the players already under contract because of the lockout that took four-and-a-half months of preparation and studying away from one of the teams that needed that time the most.

At the start of the preseason, the Browns have only signed three new players to the team, running back Brandon Jackson, cornerback Dimitri Patterson and safety Usama Young.

While the top of the division, the Pittsburgh Steelers, did exactly what they wanted, which was re-sign their key players for this season and beyond.

Along with re-signing impact players like Ike Taylor and LaMarr Woodley, the Steelers were also able to add underrated receiver Jericho Cotchery to their already talented receiving core.

The Steelers will no doubt be a favorite to win the North, as well as the AFC for a second straight year.

Pittsburgh is unfortunately on a whole level above the Browns and with the remaining free agents available, Cleveland could not sign anyone that could take them to that next level.

With the lack of time and big-name signings from the Browns, and the defending AFC champs bringing back the same team that took them to the Super Bowl, Cleveland is right where they left off at the end of last season, which is the bottom half of the AFC North.

Heckert knows that his team is in yet another rebuilding year and as much as fans want to see it, he does not want to outbid other teams and shell out big money on a free agent.

New head coach Pat Shurmur will have no choice but to work with the players he has and the team, at least the offense, looked impressive in their first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.

The first-team defense, however, struggled against Aaron Rodgers and the defending Super Bowl champs in his only two possessions.

According to Cleveland.com, the Browns still plan to address the linebacker position, with the team looking to acquire a veteran when other teams make their roster cuts before the end of the preseason, with Shurmur stating:

"There's a chance that there could be guys on other teams that might be here."

Even if the Browns are able to add a veteran to the depth chart, they will not be AFC contenders this year, and they know it.

Heckert and president Mike Holmgren would rather take the money they did not spend in free agency to lock up top players in Joe Thomas and Peyton Hillis to long-term deals in the offseason.

Unfortunately, this is not the year for the Browns to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002, but they are heading in the right direction of one day being a contender once again, hopefully soon.