Fujita, Ryan bonded over burger

Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, signed March 14 as a free agent from New Orleans, said he's known defensive coordinator Rob Ryan since he was coming out of the University of California in the 2002 draft.

''My only visit coming out for the draft was New England he was the linebacker coach there. I thought they were going to draft me,'' said Fujita, who was selected in the fifth round by Kansas City. ''I wasn't recruited coming out of high school, I had no recruiting visits for colleges. So when I went there, I remember Rob took me out to lunch and bought me a hamburger. I thought that was the coolest thing.

''It was a little dive bar, but it was a hamburger he bought for me.''

An eight-year veteran, Fujita isn't sure if he'll play inside or outside in the Browns' 3-4 scheme.

''It remains to be seen,'' he said. ''We have a lot of linebackers who can play a lot of different positions and I think that's one of our strengths. A lot of us have a lot of versatility and that's going to be one of the big strengths of this defense.''

After spending the past four seasons in New Orleans and winning the Super Bowl last season, Fujita said Cleveland will be a big change for himself, his wife Jaclyn and their twin daughters.

''It's a huge change, but a change that my family is embracing,'' he said. ''We love to explore new areas of the country and for us, that's a part of it. It's not just playing football on Sundays, it's getting to know the country well. We know that there is a great fan base here, we've always heard a lot about it, so we are excited about that.''