Browns Change Things Up

September 29, 1999 / 4:48 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Hang on to your helmets, Cleveland Browns fans. The revolving door is starting to spin.

Cleveland shook up its roster Tuesday night, trading defensive tackle Jerry Ball back to Minnesota and agreeing to terms with running back Rashaan Salaam, a Heisman Trophy winner hoping to resurrect his pro career.

In addition, the Browns picked up defensive tackle Stalin Colinet from Minnesota, waived running back Sedrick Shaw and agreed to terms with wide receiver David Dunn.

The moves won't be the last made by the expansion club this season as it builds for 2000 and beyond.

Ball, a 12-year veteran, played with the Vikings last season before signing with the expansion Browns as a free agent this winter. He was in his second stint with Cleveland after playing here in 1993.

The Vikings sent Colinet and an undisclosed draft choice to the Browns for Ball, a 34-year-old run stopper who had his first sack of the season in Cleveland's 17-10 loss to Baltimore on Sunday.

Dwight Clark, Cleveland's director of football operations, said he received a call from Minnesota coach Dennis Green on Tuesday inquiring about Ball's availability.

"We talked to Jerry after making an agreement with Minnesota, and we all agreed it was in the best interests of everyone involved," Clark said. "Jerry returns to a system he is familiar with, and we are getting a solid young player in Stalin Colinet along with a draft choice."

"One of our main goals this season is developing our younger players. This will give more playing time to Darius Holland and Marcus Spriggs, who have come along much quicker than we anticipated."

In recent weeks, the fun-loving Ball had become more evasive with reporters and may have requested the trade after seeing the expansion Browns were planning to use younger players to build for the future.

Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, was cut by the Oakland Raiders earlier this month. He didn't play last season after three injury-plagued years in Chicago, but had a solid training camp and preseason for the Raiders and an impressive workout for Clark last week.

The Browns are hoping Salaam, a first-round draft pick by Chicago in 1995, can help a running game that has been nearly nonexistent through the first three weeks. Cleveland has rushed for just 245 yards in three games, with quarterback Tim Couch picking up 89.

Shaw had been a huge disappointment to the Browns, who acquired him in an April trade with New England. The 25-year-old Shaw saw little action this season, carrying the ball just three times for 2 yards.

Dunn has previously played with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.