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The Browns have reached a contract agreement with defensive end Keith McKenzie, one of the few remaining upfield pass rushers on the market, and also re-signed backup corner Ray Jackson, who played primarily on special teams for the Browns in 1999. Details of the contracts were not immediately available.

Clearly the bigger acquisition was that of McKenzie, a former seventh-round draft pick of Green Bay (1996), who played his entire four-year career with the Packers. McKenzie, 26, possesses good upfield burst and closing speed and totaled 17 sacks the last two seasons. Green Bay tried to re-sign him late in the season, offering a four-year contract worth $10 million, but he opted to test free agency instead.

As recently as last week, the Packers were still negotiating with McKenzie in an attempt to bring him back. One of the disagreements between the two sides was the role McKenzie would play for the Packers. The team considers him a situational pass rusher, a player whose effectiveness is diminished when he is forced to log too many snaps. McKenzie, who lacks physical stature (6-feet-3, 265 pounds), regards himself as a full-time player.

It is unclear yet how McKenzie will be used in Cleveland, where the Browns generated only 25 sacks in their maiden season. McKenzie joins former Pittsburgh defensive end Orpheus Roye as the new additions to the Cleveland defensive line. In his career, he has played 58 games, only two of them starts, and has 68 tackles and 19½ sacks. McKenzie had nine sacks in 1998 and then a team-high eight sacks in '99.

Jackson, 26, is a four-year veteran who began his career in Buffalo and then moved to Cleveland in the expansion stocking draft. He played in 14 games for the Browns last season and totaled six tackles, all on special teams. He has 49 games of experience and 24 tackles in his career.