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Check here for a full list of Cleveland's roster moves.

Biggest surprise: The biggest surprise is that Cleveland waited until after 9 p.m. ET Saturday to announce its moves. Supposedly, it was a strategic decision so other teams were not aware of players the Browns made available. I don’t think it makes a difference, especially because the Browns are not a team rich with talent to begin with. As far as players, Browns cornerback Brandon McDonald's name stood out most on this list. His career has been up and down, but he brought a wealth of starting experience (27 starts) to a young secondary. McDonald may have helped seal his own fate when he made negative headlines this summer for an offensive tweet aimed at Cincinnati Bengals receiver Terrell Owens. The Browns were not pleased with McDonald’s poor judgment.

No-brainers: Quarterback Brett Ratliff had no shot of making this team, because the Browns already have their three players at the position in Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace and rookie Colt McCoy. New Browns president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert made several additions at cornerback this offseason, including veteran defensive back Sheldon Brown and rookie first-round pick Joe Haden. That made it very tough for young corners such as Coye Francies to make the team. Receiver Syndric Steptoe has talent and may get interest elsewhere, particularly as a kick returner. But with Pro Bowl returner Josh Cribbs in Cleveland, the Browns have no use for Steptoe.

What's next: Despite Cleveland establishing its 53-man roster, the Browns should still be active on the waiver wires. This roster overall is not very deep, especially compared to its AFC North counterparts. So the Browns could make some additions in several areas to improve the bottom of their roster. Backups shouldn’t get too comfortable in Cleveland.

Here are the latest happenings Wednesday evening in the AFC North:

• The Cleveland Browns agreed to a four-year deal with fifth-round pick Larry Asante.
• The Browns also waived two players: tight end Greg Estandia and defensive lineman Keith Grennan.
• This week's contract extension for Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin shouldn't have come as a surprise.
  
• The new autograph policy of the Baltimore Ravens is ruffling some feathers.

The Cleveland Browns will hold their mandatory minicamp on Thursday. The session will last three days and is a good indicator of where players stand heading into training camp.

Here are five questions that need to be answered:

1. Who will show up?

Analysis: The Browns have several restricted free agents that are still unhappy with their contracts. Safety Abram Elam, kicker Phil Dawson and linebackers D'Qwell Jackson and Matt Roth have skipped offseason workouts in hopes of getting multi-year extensions. The backfield of Lawrence Vickers and Jerome Harrison, also restricted free agents, have missed some practice time for the same reason. It will be interesting to see if all -- or some -- show up from this group.

2. Can a young secondary defend?

Analysis: With Elam not around, the Browns practiced with 2010 draft picks T.J. Ward and Larry Asante with the first team. Although very risky, Browns head coach Eric Mangini hasn’t ruled out starting two rookie safeties next season. First-round pick Joe Haden also has been in the cornerback rotation. Will a young secondary step up and play well this week?

3. How will QB Jake Delhomme perform?

Analysis: The Browns are quietly optimistic that Delhomme is primed for a bounce-back year. The coaching staff has been impressed with his veteran presence and professionalism. A good, consistent performance in minicamp for Delhomme will silence some doubters before the intensity picks up in training camp.

4. Who will step up at WR?

Analysis: Delhomme’s targets have been much-maligned this offseason. Cleveland’s wide receivers are young and inexperienced. But minicamp is the perfect time for someone to come of age. Can an unproven player like Brian Robiskie put the clamps on a starting job this week? Stay tuned.

5. What’s the RB rotation?

Analysis: Harrison, the incumbent starter, missed a majority of offseason workouts in a contract dispute, which gave rookie second-round pick Montario Hardesty a chance to work with the starters. So far the coaching staff has been impressed with Hardesty. This is expected to be a tandem in Cleveland, but it will be interesting to who gets the most of the reps in minicamp.

BEREA, Ohio -- Here is a bad sign for the Cleveland Browns: The team has more contract disputes (six) than wins (five) accumulated last season.

While Cleveland attempts to climb out of the basement in a highly competitive AFC North division, a half dozen starters (including the kicker) are skipping offseason workouts in hopes of getting a larger contract.

Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, safety Abram Elam, kicker Phil Dawson, pass-rush specialist Matt Roth and running backs Jerome Harrison and Lawrence Vickers were missing from the start of the Browns' organized team activities last week. (Editor's note: The Plain Dealer reported Thursday that Harrison "has been participating in organized team activities this week despite not signing his one-year tender.") Roth reportedly went as far as to request a trade from Cleveland, while Jackson and Elam have publicly made statements about their unhappiness. Everyone except Dawson is a restricted free agent and has yet to sign their one-year tender.

These are problems that Cleveland's new braintrust of president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert must resolve before the start of the 2010 season. Although the players in question are solid, this power pair didn't draft any of them, and thus have no personal attachments to this group.

That makes the chances of Cleveland giving out various contract extensions to unhappy players even dicier, leading to this current standstill.

"You want them all to be here," Browns head coach Eric Mangini said at OTAs. "It's voluntary right now, and they have to make the decisions that they have to make. The thing that it does do for the guys that are here is it creates extra reps for them, which is positive because we do have quite a few guys [competing] at positions."

(Read full post)

Here are the most interesting stories in the AFC North:

• The Cincinnati Bengals and the AFC North added another arrest this week. This time it's Bengals backup receiver Maurice Purify.

Morning take: Here's the same response I gave to the others.

• Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed, who contemplated retirement, recently had hip surgery and will not participate at this weekend's minicamp.

Morning take: The Ravens are confident that Reed is returning and didn’t alter their draft plans, which is further proof of that.

• Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler has a lot of talent to work with.

Morning take: I'm still a bit baffled why Pittsburgh drafted two OLBs in the first four rounds last month. But Butler should definitely be happy about it.

• Here is more info on Cleveland Browns rookie safety and fifth-round pick Larry Asante.

Morning take: Asante worked his way up from junior college to Nebraska, where he became one of the Huskers' top defenders. The Browns hope he continues to improve.

» NFC Big Question: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Will the Cleveland Browns go with a rookie starting safety this season?

Rarely is an NFL coach stumped by a football question.

But after the Browns took cornerback Joe Haden in the first round of the NFL draft, coach Eric Mangini was quizzed on his starting safeties, which caused some hesitation.

"It's a ways away," Mangini said. "So I can't really say that definitively right now."

Over the next two days, the Browns drafted a pair of safeties -- T.J. Ward of Oregon and Larry Asante of Nebraska. The Browns are hoping one of these players matures quickly and earns a starting role this season alongside veteran Abram Elam.

Safety was arguably Cleveland's biggest need entering the draft. It was a major reason many projected Eric Berry or Earl Thomas to land with the Browns in the first round.

Berry was a target for Cleveland at No. 7. But when he went off the board at No. 5 to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Browns turned their attention to Haden. It also forced Cleveland to look very hard at safeties in the second round.

Some draft experts felt the team reached for Ward at No. 38. But Ward was a player the Browns really liked.

"When I looked at him and spent time with him he reminded me a lot of Lawyer Milloy," Mangini said. "I think he's got outstanding instincts in the running game. He’s one of these guys that can navigate through traffic and it's almost like the blockers don't exist. Very rarely does he miss tackles."

The Browns selected Asante in the fifth round. He has similar skills to Ward in terms of being an aggressive hitter at safety. Right now, Ward is the favorite to be the Week 1 starter. But both rookies will have plenty of opportunities to impress Cleveland's coaching staff in training camp.

"Just like with the other guys, he will battle at safety for playing time," Browns general manager Tom Heckert said of Asante. "We do think he is a good player. He played at a big-time level of competition, which is always a nice thing to have."

With opposing quarterbacks on the schedule such as Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer, the Browns need at least one of these rookie safeties to be fast learners.

I'm not big on grading an NFL draft 24 hours after it's complete. But I know a lot of people are.

So we bring in ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper to do the heavy lifting and provide his evaluations for the AFC North:

Baltimore Ravens

Kiper's draft grade: A

Analysis: Only two teams received the highest grade possible from Kiper, and the Ravens were one of them. To fully appreciate what Baltimore did in the draft, you have to consider the team began the week with just five draft picks. Then the Ravens shrewdly traded out of the first round with the Denver Broncos for three picks later in the draft, and that's when the Ravens went to work. Kiper loves the second-round selections of linebacker Sergio Kindle and defensive tackle Terrence "Mount" Cody. Kiper also believes the team grabbed a pair of quality tight end prospects in Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. Baltimore acquired as much talent as anyone without having a single selection in the first 42 picks.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Kiper's draft grade: B

Analysis: Kiper doesn't believe the Steelers drafted any huge impact players. But he liked the solid acquisitions, which resulted in a solid grade. I haven't seen anyone so far who doesn't like the choice of first-round pick Maurkice Pouncey. The former Florida center seems like a perfect fit in Pittsburgh's interior offensive line and should bring toughness to that unit. Linebackers Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson were risky in terms of need, but Kiper believes they can help for now on special teams. Kiper highlighted running back Jonathan Dwyer as a possible sleeper.

Cincinnati Bengals

Kiper's draft grade: C

Analysis: Outside of the opening pick of tight end Jermaine Gresham, Kiper wasn't all that impressed with the Bengals' draft. Kiper, like most draft experts, believes defensive end Carlos Dunlap is a boom-or-bust player who underachieved despite great physical tools. Third-round cornerback Brandon Ghee potentially could help in sub packages against multiple-receiver sets, where Cincinnati struggled last season. No mention of receiver Jordan Shipley from Kiper. But he does think former Kansas receiver Dezmon Briscoe, who was taken in the sixth round, might surprise.

Cleveland Browns

Kiper's draft grade: C

Analysis: The first draft of the Mike Holmgren era in Cleveland also received an average grade from Kiper. He praised the pick of cornerback Joe Haden at No. 7 overall. But otherwise Kiper felt safety T.J. Ward and tailback Montario Hardesty were drafted too high and considered them reaches. Cleveland traded up in the second round to get Hardesty, who Kiper likes but didn't think the move up was necessary. Kiper also questioned why the Browns drafted Ward and Larry Asante, who are both considered "in-the-box" safeties. Kiper feels quarterback Colt McCoy at the end of the third round was a good value pick.