CLEVELAND (AP)—Jake Delhomme has a new NFL home, and the Cleveland Browns have another new quarterback. Delhomme, released last week by the Carolina Panthers, has agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Browns, whose quarterback position has been nothing short of a merry-go-round of players since the club returned as an expansion team 11 years ago.

Delhomme’s agent, Rick Smith, said the 35-year-old QB would sign his contract before the club’s off-season conditioning program begins. Smith refused to comment beyond saying Delhomme would be resuming his career in Cleveland. A team spokesman said the Browns have no announcements planned. Cleveland has been busy trying to resolve a troublesome position.

Earlier this week, the Browns acquired backup Seneca Wallace and released Derek Anderson, a one-time Pro Bowl selection who has struggled in the past two seasons. Delhomme is expected to compete for Cleveland’s starting job with Brady Quinn ,who has yet to receive any endorsement from the club’s new front office. Delhomme visited the Browns on Thursday but left without a deal.

He had scheduled a meeting with the New Orleans Saints, his hometown team, but canceled that trip after working out the principles of a deal with the Browns. Since 1999, the Browns have had eight different opening-week quarterbacks. Delhomme is coming off his worst season as a pro. He threw 18 interceptions and the Panthers decided to cut him despite still owing him more than $12 million.

Delhomme went 58-40 as a starter with Carolina, leading the franchise to its lone Super Bowl appearance to end the 2003 season.

The Browns have announced the signing of Ben Watson to a mult-year contract
believed to be worth 12.3 million dollars over 3 years.

The free agent spent each of his first 6 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Browns GM Tom Heckert said, "We viewed Ben as one of the top all-around
tight ends in the free agent market."

A 1st round pick in 2004, Watson has played in 71 regular season games,
in which he has caught 167 passes for 2,102 yards and 20 touchdowns.
In 9 playoff games  he had 19 catches and 3 touchdowns.

Last year Watson caught 29 passes for 404 yards and 5 scores.

The Cleveland Browns today signed tight end Benjamin Watson to a multi-year contract as an unrestricted free agent from the New England Patriots, where he had spent each of his first six NFL seasons (2004-09).

“We viewed Ben as one of the top all-around tight ends in the free agent market,” said Browns General Manager Tom Heckert. “Because of his athleticism and intelligence, he has proven valuable as both a receiver and blocker during his career, and has performed well in both facets.
 
He comes from a winning program in New England and possesses the traits that we like in a player. We feel as though he can help us in many different areas and we are excited about his addition to our team.” Originally a first-round draft choice of the Patriots in 2004 (32nd overall), the 6-3, 255-pound Watson has appeared in 71 regular season games in his career, including 47 starts. During that time he has caught 167 passes for 2,102 yards and 20 touchdowns.
 
He also has played in nine playoff contests, starting seven of them, and tallied 19 receptions for 195 yards and three touchdowns. He turned in his most productive season in 2006 when he hauled in 49 passes for 643 yards and three touchdowns. He accounted for a career-high six touchdown catches the following year, when he totaled 36 receptions for 389 yards.

He turned in the lone 100-yard receiving game of his career in 2007, in a matchup against the Browns on October 7 at Gillette Stadium when he had six receptions for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Last year with New England, Watson played in all 16 games with seven starts and caught 29 passes for 404 yards and five scores.
 
The 29-year-old Watson began his collegiate career at Duke where he played in 1999 prior to transferring to Georgia. In three years with the Bulldogs (2001-03), he totaled 65 receptions for 852 yards and six touchdowns.

Born December 18, 1980, Watson, attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, S.C.

The Cleveland Browns today completed a trade in which they obtained quarterback Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an undisclosed 2011 draft choice.
 
“We are fortunate that we were able to acquire someone with Seneca’s experience at such a key position,” said Browns General Manager Tom Heckert. “In watching him in person and on tape, the things which stand out are his strong arm and outstanding athleticism, and that will allow us do a lot of things with him while he is on the field. He played well in limited opportunities while he was with Seattle and we expect him to come in here and compete.”

“I want to thank the Seattle Seahawks organization for a tremendous seven seasons,” Wallace said. “They gave me my start in the NFL and I will always be grateful for that. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with the Cleveland Browns and I am excited to be back with Coach (Mike) Holmgren.

With him here, as well as many of the other people they have in place, I believe this franchise is headed in the right direction. “I had a chance to meet with Coach (Eric) Mangini and Coach (Brian) Daboll today for a little bit and they both seem like really great guys. I am eager to get to work with the Browns and look forward to meeting my new teammates.”

Wallace is a veteran of seven NFL seasons who entered the league as a fourth-round draft choice of the Seahawks in 2003, when current Browns President Mike Holmgren was that team’s Executive Vice President & Head Coach. During that time, Wallace played in 48 games with 14 starts and completed 333 of 556 passes (59.9%) for 3,547 yards with 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a passer rating of 83.1. He also rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown on 54 carries and caught four passes for 76 yards.

He had his most productive season in 2008 when he started eight of 10 games with Seattle and connected on 141 of 242 passes for 1,532 yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions. During the 2008 season, he established a Seahawks club record by not throwing an interception in 184 straight pass attempts.

The 5-11, 205-pound Wallace played two seasons at Iowa State (2001-02). In his career with the Cyclones he completed 411 of 712 passes for 5,289 yards with 26 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He also ran for 912 yards and 15 touchdowns on 237 carries. His 6,201 yards of total offense set a school record.
 
Born August 6, 1980, Wallace attended Rancho Cordova High School in Sacramento, Calif.

(Berea) - Following the termination of his contract, former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson told a northeast Ohio newspaper that the team's long-suffering fans are "ruthless" and that they "don't deserve a winner."

He would later apologize.

Originally responding to an e-mail sent by Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald, Anderson reacted by taking a few shots at Browns fans.

"I will never forget getting cheered when I was injured,' he wrote in reference to a game in November of 2008 when he tore a knee ligament while getting sacked.

"I know at times I wasn't great," the former Pro Bowl QB added. "I hope and pray I'm playing when my team comes to town and (we) roll them."

Read the entire Schudel article on The News-Herald's Web site.

Early Wednesday morning, Anderson issued a statement of apology that was sent to Newsradio WTAM 1100 Browns Beat Reporter Andre Knott and others.

"I said some things to Jeff Schudel (of The News-Herald) earlier that I regret. Those of you who got to know me personally from covering the Browns over the past five years, know this was out of character for me. I wasn't taken out of context, but I was speaking out of my frustration after my career with the Browns came to a close.

"I had some great times playing in Cleveland, especially during the 2007 season and I met some great people and made many lifelong friends along the way. I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life."

The Browns terminated Anderson's contract Tuesday.

Anderson joined Cleveland via waivers from Baltimore in 2005 and spent the last five seasons with the Browns. He appeared in 39 games with 34 starts during that time and completed 587 of 1,109 passes for 7,083 yards with 46 touchdowns and 45 interceptions.

“I want to thank Derek for everything that he gave to the Cleveland Browns organization over the last five years,” said Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini. “He did everything we asked of him and it was a pleasure to coach such a competitive person. I want to wish him all the best in the future.”

The move comes a day after the Seattle Seahawks traded backup quarterback Seneca Wallace to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2011 undisclosed draft pick. A Seahawks spokesman confirmed the deal Monday night.

Wallace spent his entire seven-year career with the Seahawks, and was always a favorite of Holmgren’s when he was Seattle’s coach. Now the Browns' team president, Holmgren has brought Wallace to Cleveland.

Wallace's best season was 2008 when he started eight games in Holmgren’s last season and threw for 1,532 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wallace started two games last season while starter Matt Hasselbeck was injured.

Wallace was also sometimes used as a wide receiver and returner in Seattle.

(Copyright © 2010 Clear Channel. All rights reserved.)

 

(Seattle/Cleveland) - Mike Holmgren is already making deals with his former team.

The Seattle Seahawks traded backup quarterback Seneca Wallace to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2011 undisclosed draft pick. A Seahawks spokesman confirmed the deal Monday night.

Wallace spent his entire seven-year career with the Seahawks, and was always a favorite of Holmgren’s when he was Seattle’s coach. Now the Browns' team president, Holmgren has brought Wallace to Cleveland.

Wallace's best season was 2008 when he started eight games in Holmgren’s last season and threw for 1,532 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wallace started two games last season while starter Matt Hasselbeck was injured.

Wallace was also sometimes used as a wide receiver and returner in Seattle.

(Copyright 2010 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Cleveland Browns today signed linebacker Scott Fujita (pronounced Foo-GEE-ta) and offensive lineman Tony Pashos (pronounced PAH-shos) to multi-year contracts as unrestricted free agents, the team announced. Fujita, an eight-year veteran, spent the past four seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Pashos, a veteran of seven NFL seasons, spent last year with the San Francisco 49ers.

“We are extremely happy that we were able to get Scott and Tony signed so quickly,” said Browns General Manager Tom Heckert. “They are two players we had targeted from the start of free agency. Both are smart, tough and physical - the type of players that the Browns are looking for.

“Scott possesses tremendous size for a linebacker, and this will allow him to play inside or outside in our 3-4 defense. He has been a starter throughout his career, has been exposed to several different defensive schemes and has been successful in all of them. He is a great leader and played a big part in the success that the Saints achieved last year.

“We like the fact that Tony has started a lot of games in this league, and has been a part of some productive offenses with Baltimore and Jacksonville. Although he’s started at right tackle, he has the versatility to play inside as well, and he will come in and compete at both tackle and guard with us.”

The 6-5, 250-pound Fujita entered the league as a fifth-round draft choice of Kansas City in 2002. During his career, he has played with the Chiefs (2002-04), Dallas (2005) and the Saints (2006-09). He has appeared in 120 regular season games with 103 starts and has amassed 801 tackles, 19 sacks, five interceptions, 22 passes defensed, nine forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He has started a minimum of eight contests in each of his eight seasons, and has opened all 16 on three occasions (2003-04, 2006).

He also has started each of the six playoff games in which he has played during his career, including all three in the Saints’ postseason run to the Super Bowl XLIV title this past year. With New Orleans, Fujita served as a defensive captain in both 2007 and 2008. Originally a walk-on safety at the University of California, Fujita went on to start 24 of the 39 games in which he played at linebacker during his four-year career for the Golden Bears (1998-2001), recording 124 tackles and seven sacks.
 
He graduated with a degree in political science and went on to earn his master’s in education. Born April 28, 1979, Fujita was a standout in football and basketball at Rio Mesa (Calif.) High School.

The 29-year-old Pashos originally was a fifth-round draft choice of Baltimore in 2003. He has spent four years with the Ravens (2003-06), two with Jacksonville (2007-08) and one with the 49ers (2009). During that time he has played in 74 games with 55 starts, all at right tackle. Over a three-year period from 2006-08, he started all 47 games in which he played.

This includes 16 with the Ravens in 2006 and the Jaguars in 2008, and 15 for Jacksonville in 2007. In 2006, he was part of a Ravens line that allowed only 17 sacks, the second-lowest total in the NFL that year, while running back Jamal Lewis rushed for 1,132 yards. In 2007, he was a member of a Jaguars line which led a running game that averaged 149.4 yards per contest, the second-best figure in the league, led by a 1,202-yard rushing effort by Fred Taylor, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry. In 2008, Jacksonville averaged 4.2 yards per rush attempt as both Maurice Jones-Drew (824) and Taylor (556) surpassed the 500-yard rushing plateau.

The 6-6, 325-pound Pashos was a four-year letterman at Illinois (1999-2002) where he started 47 games at right tackle and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection as both a junior and senior. He graduated with a degree in history and a minor in political science. Born August 3, 1980, he attended Lockport (Ill.) High School, where he earned a total of nine varsity letters, including four in football, three in track and two in powerlifting.

BROWNS RENEGOTIATE JOSHUA CRIBBS’ CONTRACT

The Cleveland Browns today renegotiated wide receiver/kick returner Joshua Cribbs’ contract by modifying its final three years. Cribbs, 26, recently was named as the kick returner on the 2000s NFL All-Decade Team. The fifth-year pro is the NFL’s all-time leader in kickoff return touchdowns with eight and was selected to his second Pro Bowl last season, when he became the first player in NFL history to amass 1,000 kickoff return yards in each of his first five seasons. Cribbs led the league with four total return touchdowns, three kickoff return scores and 1,994 total return yards in 2009. His return yardage total was the fourth-highest single-season figure in NFL annals. Along with his 2,214 return yards in 2007, he holds two of the top four single-season totals in NFL history. He finished 2009 with 2,510 all-purpose yards, the fifth-highest single-season total in NFL history. He also ranked third in the NFL in kickoff return average (27.5) and fourth in punt return average (11.9). He added 20 receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown, 381 rushing yards on 55 attempts with one touchdown and one pass completion for 18 yards.

A consensus first-team All-Pro selection as a kick returner last year, Cribbs was voted a team co-captain on special teams. He was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice (Weeks 14 and 15) in 2009 and was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December/January.

The Cleveland Browns today traded defensive lineman Corey Williams and their 2010 seventh-round draft choice to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2010 draft, a pick obtained by Detroit from Denver.
 
In his two seasons with the Browns (2008-09), Williams played in 32 games with 18 starts and registered 88 tackles, 4.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

The Browns currently own 11 picks in the 2010 NFL Draft, including nine over the first five rounds.