Granted, NFL Free Agency has not yet officially begun. Sure, teams can agree with players, and trades are always welcome, but official signing has not begun. However, that has not stopped teams from making moves, moving on from old stars, or bringing in fresh faces. There are alternate highs and lows of this. Just ask Richard Sherman and the Cleveland Browns.

It's a business

Every NFL team deals with a critical question each offseason. "Do we resign aging star (insert name here) or do we cut ties, save money and move on?" Jordy Nelson. Adrian Peterson.

Kurt Coleman. Tyrann Mathieu. Brian Cushing. Demarco Murray. Darrelle Revis. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Jonathan Stewart. Jeremy Maclin. Chris Ivory. Richard Sherman. Tamba Hali. Elvis Dumervil. Doug Martin. 12 Pro Bowlers and 5 All-Pro's and all have been cut this offseason. The league is a business, though, and even more so a "What have you done for me lately?" type of business.

Adrian Peterson, albeit past his prime, showed last season in limited game action (he played 6 games for the Cardinals) that he did have at least a little left in the tank. Alas, it matters not. The former league MVP hits the scrap heap, so to speak. Jonathan Stewart played every snap he ever suited up for with the Carolina Panthers.

His production, however, had been lacking recently. In the NFL, loyalty is scarce, and Stewart's 10 year loyal stint with the Panthers is all for naught it seems.

Richard Sherman fell prey to a team desperately in need of some retooling. He was long considered the best cornerback in the league. But, if a team needs to retool or rebuild and you happen to come with a nice price tag, looks like you're out of luck.

Past performance does not come into play, nor does loyalty.

In the case of Demarco Murray, sometimes it's just a newer more efficient and cheaper model. That newer, cheaper, better car just seems to make more sense than the older, slower car, right? The old car was good to you, and can still be good to someone else, but it's time for change.

The league is a business, and every offseason serves as a reminder to that sobering truth. Just ask Panthers fans how they felt when Steve Smith was cut.

Cleveland crazies

The Cleveland Browns, winners of zero games this past season and owners of the numbers one and four picks in the upcoming draft, have long been considered the laughing stock of the NFL. To sum it up, in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017 they had more than one first round pick. While the jury is still out on the 2017 class, none of the first round picks from the aforementioned classes are still with the team. But this offseason, the Browns have made a flurry of moves to improve their roster. They traded for Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry.

They traded for playoff starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor. They traded their previous cornerback for Damarious Randall, former Green Bay Packers starting corner. Trading away your rookie quarterback so soon probably isn't the wisest move, but it removes the potential for a position battle, at least before the draft.

To go along with those trades, but the Browns also signed running back Carlos Hyde. Suffice to say, the Browns are tired of being bottom-feeders, and they've made moves to prove it. One, admittedly not myself, might go as far to say "Playoffs?!" in extreme Jim Mora fashion. Will the Browns moves pay off, or will they fizzle out because they are, after all, the Browns? Will the Browns do the impossible and make the playoffs one year removed from winning absolutely no games?

The 1976 Buccaneers went 0-14. They followed that up with 2-12. The 2008 Lions went 0-16 and their encore was a 2-14 season. If the Browns can, and they certainly should, eclipse two wins, then they've already made history. Only time will tell if they will morph into something great, or remain being the Cleveland Browns we all know and love.