Day one of the 2013 NFL league year brought quite a bit of change to the AFC North division as the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns saw their rosters change quite a bit. Here is a recap of what happened Tuesday in the division.
Pittsburgh Steelers: It was business as usual for the Steelers, who normally focus their efforts on signing their own free agents in the early days of free agency. The Steelers re-signed linebacker Larry Foote, tight end/fullback David Johnson and wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Those signings came one day after it was announced that guard Ramon Foster had been resigned. The Steelers of course did suffer their first free agent loss on Tuesday as wide receiver Mike Wallace was signed by the Miami Dolphins to a five-year, $60 million contract with $30 million guaranteed. We all knew it was just a matter of time. The Steelers have a few free agent visitors lined up, but the action will slow from here on out as all of our eyes will stay focused on cornerback Keenan Lewis.
Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens had some key losses on Tuesday. Just one day after trading wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers, the Ravens lost outside linebacker Paul Kruger to the Cleveland Browns and inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe to the Dolphins. Kruger signed a five-year, $41 million contract that included $20 million guaranteed, while Ellerbe signed a five-year, $34.75 million contract. The Ravens did sign an outside free agent, however, as defensive tackle Chris Canty, formerly of the New York Giants, signed a three-year, $8 million contract with $2.8 million guaranteed. The Ravens also re-signed a few of their own free agents as wide receiver David Reed, long snapper Morgan Cox and safety James Ihedigbo all came to terms on Tuesday.
Cleveland Browns: The Browns, as mentioned above, signed Kruger away from the Ravens. They also signed defensive tackle Desmond Bryant, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, to a five-year, $34 million contract on Tuesday That deal reportedly included $15 million guaranteed.
Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals had a very slow start on Tuesday and it included re-signing one of their own free agents as defensive end Robert Geathers was signed to a a three-year, $9.5 million contract.
