Cleveland
Browns

News: The Browns have signed Hoyer to a two-year contract, adding more veteran depth to a troublesome position. Hoyer, who starred at a Cleveland area high school, finalized his deal Friday after agreeing to terms with the Browns one day earlier. Hoyer was released earlier this week by Arizona.
Impact: Hoyer will compete for a backup job with the Browns, who expect Brandon Weeden to beat out Jason Campbell to be the starter. Hoyer was signed by New England as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and spent three seasons backing up Tom Brady.

News: The Browns have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with former Arizona quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Impact: Hoyer, cut earlier this week by the Cardinals, is expected to compete for a backup job behind either Brandon Weeden or Jason Campbell. The Browns also have third-stringer Thaddeus Lewis on their roster.

News: The Cleveland Browns have agreed to terms with free agent running back Brandon Jackson on a one-year contract. The Browns had high hopes for the 27-year-old when they signed him in 2011. But he sustained a toe injury in the second preseason game and was placed on injured reserve. The previous season, Jackson set career highs in rushing, touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards for Green Bay.
Impact: Jackson played in just two games for Cleveland last season. In the finale against Pittsburgh, he rushed for 54 yards on eight carries. Jackson was inactive for 13 games. The 5-10, 216-pound Jackson is not expected to sign his new deal with the Browns until Monday. The team has to make another move to clear a roster spot before his deal can be finalized.

News: Hoyer signed a two-year deal with the Browns on Thursday, Thesidelineview.com's Adam Caplan reports.
Impact: With Jason Campbell on board to battle with Brandon Weeden for the starting job, Hoyer is realistically looking at a competition with Thaddeus Lewis for the No. 3 job. Hoyer appeared in two games (one start) for the Cardinals last season, throwing for 330 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

News: The Browns have re-signed Jackson to a one-year deal, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Impact: Jackson, who finished the 2012 season with 54 rushing yards on eight carries and two receptions for 20 yards in two games, returns to the Browns' RB depth mix behind starter Trent Richardson.

News: Hoyer was released by Arizona on Monday, Sirius Radio's Adam Caplan reports.
Impact: Carson Palmer's acquisition during the offseason left Hoyer's status in some doubt. The Cardinals were actively attempting to trade Hoyer leading up to the draft, but those inquiries apparently led nowhere. Consequently, Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley will remain the two reserve QBs on the Cardinals, with Hoyer searching for yet another opportunity.

News: Rouse, an undrafted free agent from Fresno State University, has been signed by the Browns, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Impact: Rouse is definitely short, standing at only 5-foot-6. However, he finished as Fresno State's all-time rushing leader with 4,647 rushing yards, 37 rushing touchdowns, 110 catches and 794 receiving yards. He surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his last three seasons. However, he lacks explosiveness and size. This may limit his play to acting as a change-of-pace back for the Browns.

News: Faulk (knee) did not participate in practice Friday, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Impact: Faulk, an undrafted free agent signee out of LSU, suffered a major knee injury in 2012 that caused his stock to plummet. At this point, the team is likely just being cautious in working him into rookie minicamp and allowing him to focus on his conditioning.

News: Slaughter (Achilles) did not practice Friday, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Impact: Slaughter was a sixth-round selection of the Browns in last month's draft. The injury is not considered serious, as Slaughter stretched with the team and rode a training bike for a portion of practice.

News: The Cleveland Browns have signed Butler to a one-year contract. Butler spent the past six seasons with the Houston Texans. He was on injured reserve all of 2012 with a triceps injury, and he played in just two games in 2011 because of an elbow injury.
Impact: The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder has made 41 career starts in the NFL. In 2010, he played in all 16 games and made four starts at left tackle for the Texans. A four-year letterman at Miami, Butler was drafted in the third round (No. 89 overall) by Carolina in 2006.

News: Bryant, Cleveland's seventh-round draft pick, has been given a deferred one-year jail sentence after pleading no contest to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Impact: The Browns drafted Bryant despite his arrest last year on a felony charge of marijuana distribution in a school zone. He also pleaded no contest to that charge.

News: Bryant was arrested Sunday in Oklahoma for driving drunk, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Impact: The 22-year-old pass-rushing defensive end was taken by the Browns in the seventh round of the most recent draft. Bryant was also arrested last October for selling marijuana to an undercover police officer, and following this arrest, there's a chance the team cuts ties with him before rookie minicamp commences Friday.

News: Cleveland Browns seventh-round draft pick Armonty Bryant was charged Monday with driving under the influence of alcohol after his arrest late last week. Bryant was charged Monday in Pontotoc County District Court and a court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday.
Impact: According to an arrest affidavit, Bryant was stopped around 3:45 a.m. Friday near the stadium at East Central University, where he was a standout defensive end, and a test showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.098 percent. The legal limit in Oklahoma is 0.08. Bryant pleaded no contest in October to a felony charge of marijuana distribution in a school zone, but coach Rob Chudzinski said the team drafted him believing he was "past his mistakes."

News: Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski explained "tight ends have always been a big part [of his offense]," and Cameron "has the skill set that fits," according to Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Impact: Chudzinski also said Cameron has to keep progressing, but the elements for a breakout season are there. Fellow tight ends Antonio Gates and Greg Olsen have experienced success under Chudzinski's tutelage, and Cameron shares some of the same physical gifts as those two. Most importantly, he should get the opportunity. Previous starter Ben Watson left via free agency, the Browns didn't draft a tight end, and the competition in house comes from Kellen Davis and Gary Barnidge, each of whom have limited explosiveness in the passing game.

News: Weeden received the first-team reps in early workouts this spring, but Jason Campbell will get "a legitimate shot to beat (him) out" for the starting job, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.
Impact: Even if this wasn't the case, the Browns' staff would make this statement to motivate their second-year quarterback, but there are reasons to believe a true competition will unfold. New ownership and management didn't have a hand in selecting Weeden, but they actively sought out Campbell this offseason. Weeden is still in the driver's seat, and it will take a significant divergence in preseason production for the switch to be made, but by no means is his status as the team's starter a given.

News: Campbell "will be given a legitimate shot to beat out Brandon Weeden for the starting job," according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.
Impact: In contrast to Weeden, Campbell was targeted by the Browns' current administration, and it wouldn't be a complete shock if he gets the nod as the starter. That's a decision to be imparted in the coming months, and he'll have to significantly outplay Weeden this preseason, but he has a massive edge in experience and shockingly is only two years older than the incumbent second-year man currently ahead of him.