After landing a pair of defensive starters in the opening days of free agency, ESPN.com has learned that the Browns have reached agreement with free-agent offensive tackle Ryan Tucker, a five-year veteran who played his entire career with the St. Louis Rams until being released last week.

Tucker will sign a four-year, $8.8 million contract which includes a signing bonus of $2.6 million.

"I am really excited to be a part of the Cleveland Browns organization," Tucker said. "The organization, ownership and facilities are all first-class. I am looking forward to playing for a high-energy guy like Butch Davis, who has been successful every place he has been. I like where the Cleveland Browns are heading."

Cleveland landed a pair of starters in end Kenard Lang and strong safety Robert Griffith earlier this week before now strolling the offensive aisles.

The addition means the Browns have invested $9.6 million in signing bonuses since Tuesday and there could be more to come. The team continues negotiations with former Kansas City offensive right tackle Victor Riley and, if he goes to the Browns, then Tucker might move to guard.

Tucker, 26, was drafted by the Rams as a center in the fourth round of the 1997 lottery. He moved to tackle in 1999 and became a starter in 2000 when Fred Miller departed in free agency. Tucker started 15 of 16 games in 2001 but suffered a severely sprained ankle in the season finale and was forced from the lineup for the playoffs.

"Ryan is smart, athletic, versatile and agreesive," Browns executive vice president Dwight Clark said. "He can play guard and tackle, but we project him at the right tackle position at this time.

"We are committed to running the ball more effectively, and acquiring Ryan will go a long way in helping us achieve that goal. His addition certainly strengthens our offensive line."

Veteran journeyman Rod Jones started all three of the postseason games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, but Tucker eventually replaced him in the championship game. In fact, Tucker was upset when Jones was named starter in the Super Bowl, because he felt his ankle was sufficiently recovered to permit him to regain his spot.

The former TCU standout is a brawler-type blocker, a 6-foot-5 and 305-pound power blocker who should fit well into the style Cleveland coach Butch Davis prefers. Davis wants to field a line unit featuring all 300-pounders and simply knock defenders off the line and establish the run.

In five seasons, Tucker has played in 58 games and started 30 of them. The Rams left him exposed in the expansion draft and he was not selected by the Houston Texans. He was then released last week, in part for salary cap reasons, and Rams officials indicated they might be interested in re-signing him later in the free-agent period.

Information from SportsTicker was used in this report.