Injured second-year pro Brandon Weeden no longer is the oldest starter on the Cleveland Browns' offense.
Veteran running back Willis McGahee, 31, has passed his physical and agreed to terms with the Browns, sources told NFL Media's Jeff Darlington on Thursday. The Browns later announced McGahee's signing.
Although one report suggested the Denver Broncos released McGahee in June primarily due to concerns about the torn MCL and compression fracture that ended his 2012 season, he's now passed physicals from three different teams.
The Browns didn't sign McGahee to sit on the bench. He's reportedly in "great shape," which makes him the favorite to assume lead-back duties over Bobby Rainey and Chris Ogbonnaya.
Don't expect McGahee to pick up where he left off in Denver, though. He's another year closer to the end, is coming off a major injury, will need time to get back into football shape after missing training camp and no longer has the benefit of defenses backing out of the box to respect Peyton Manning's ability.
Fantasy leaguers shouldn't feel the need to run out and scoop up McGahee after watching Trent Richardson -- a more gifted player -- fail to top 60 rushing yards in either of the Browns' first two games. This isn't an offense that will present consistent scoring opportunities.
Remember what historian Jacques Barzun said: There's no shame in staring as the lemmings rush by.
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