The opening of the free-agency period in the NFL is mere days, even hours, away.

Teams like the Browns can legally start negotiating with unrestricted free agents at noon Monday. They can't officially sign them, however, until 4 p.m. Wednesday.

As usual, Browns general manager Andrew Berry has kept his plans for free agency tight to his chest. That leaves the rest to take educated guesses at exactly who's on the board at what positions.

What we do know is some of the positions where the Browns need, at the minimum, quality depth added. Some of that will occur in late April when the draft is held.

What follows is the first of two pieces taking a look at potential targets for the Browns in free agency, with this part looking at offensive free agents. It's not every position on the field — offensive line, specifically, isn't listed here — but it tries to take a look at several key spots.

Sunday will look at the defensive free agents. Today's starts with the most important position in football, where a lot of familiar faces reside.

Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett, Joshua Dobbs among potential backup QBs

• Jacoby Brissett

• Joshua Dobbs

• Joe Flacco

• Gardner Minshew

Flacco, who won NFL Comeback Player of the Year for last season after going 4-1 in the regular season for the Browns, has been the sentimental favorite among fans. Initially, it seemed far-fetched — and may still be — that the two sides could make running it back work. However, both sides have publicly spoken very highly of the other, with Flacco's words this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio certainly opening up a stronger-than-thought potential of a return. The questions are two-fold: Is there a better opportunity out there for the 39-year-old? And, does Flacco's return create any weird dynamics involving starter Deshaun Watson? … Third time the charm for Dobbs? The past two years, he's signed with the Browns in the spring, but not finished the season with the team. However, both times at least provided him with an opportunity to finally start games, which he hadn't done in his first five seasons in the league. The familiarity and, potentially, the market, could make him an option if Flacco and others end up elsewhere. … Familiarity would also fit with Brissett, who started 11 games for the Browns in 2022 while Watson was suspended. The 31-year-old, though, left after that season hoping to find a starting job. That hasn't changed after a year as mostly a backup with the Washington Commanders. Brissett has been strongly linked with his old offensive coordinator with the Browns, Alex Van Pelt, who is in the same role with the New England Patriots, the organization that drafted Brissett. … Minshew may be the most wishful thinking option of them all. The 27-year-old earned the right to be a starter next season when he was named to the Pro Bowl after a season in which he came off the bench to go 7-6 for the Indianapolis Colts, who went into Week 18 with a chance at winning the AFC South.

D'Ernest Johnson reunion, Zack Moss make sense as running back additions

• Kareem Hunt

• D'Ernest Johnson

• Zack Moss

The reason why the Browns may bring in a veteran running back in free agency is what brought Hunt back to the Browns last September. He was signed after Nick Chubb's season-ending knee injury in Week 2, and went on to be valuable in short-yardage and goal-to-go situations with nine regular-season touchdowns. Hunt did have offseason hernia surgery, and clearly isn't the same back he was in his prime. The question would be if the Browns may look for a option with a little more tread on the tires in the veteran running back market to help bridge the gap until Chubb returns. … Johnson checks two boxes for the Browns. He's familiar with the organization, even after having spent last season in Jacksonville. Even though he's only months younger than Hunt, he's certainly seen less usage than his former teammate. The price point would be right for a back who's being brought in not to be — the Browns would hope — a full-time replacement but more fill-in while Chubb recovers. That is one thing that Johnson has been very good at doing in his career. … Moss had a breakthrough of sorts last year in a role that would fit exactly what the Browns need in this case. While Colts star Jonathan Taylor missed time last season, Moss started eight games en route to a career-best 183 carries for 794 yards and five touchdowns. The 26-year-old may just be the perfect fit for the Browns, especially if Chubb misses some time early while the rehab continues.

Re-signing Harrison Bryant, bringing in Hayden Hurst options for tight end depth

• Harrison Bryant

• Hayden Hurst

• Adam Trautman

It seems like every list basically starts with a candidate from their own free-agent pool for the Browns to re-sign. It makes sense with some of them considering their role and production previously. Bryant is one of those players. There's no world where the fourth-year pro is seen as a top-of-the-line tight end in the league. However, for what he's been asked to do since the Browns took him in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, Bryant has been effective enough. He's a solid blocker and has been, for the most part, reliable when the ball's thrown his way. … The medicals would be critical to any potential deal with Hurst, who was released by the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday. The 30-year-old veteran was limited to just eight games last season after sustaining a concussion that his father tweeted had Hurst battling post-traumatic amnesia. That's a serious concern. However, if the doctors feel comfortable with what they see, Hurst could be a bargain for the Browns, who are familiar with him from his days with both the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. … Trautman is a bit of an off-the-board addition to this list. However, the 27-year-old played 70% of the Denver Broncos' offensive snaps last season after having been dealt there by the New Orleans Saints before the season. He had 22 catches for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including one in a Week 12 win over the Browns, last season. Trautman has good size for a No. 2 tight end at 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds.

Is Darnell Mooney or Gabe Davis the next attempt at quality receiver depth?

• Tyler Boyd

• Marquise Brown

• Gabe Davis

• Darnell Mooney

• Curtis Samuel

A year ago, the Browns' big March move for receiver help was a trade with the New York Jets to land Elijah Moore. A trade — one of Denver's duo of Courtland Sutton or Jerry Jeudy comes to mind — very well could be the move again this year. If not, it's an interesting receiving free-agency class, even if players such as Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman Jr. aren't in it. … Higgins may not be available for the Browns, but they could take a run at Boyd, his Cincinnati Bengals teammate. The argument could be positioned against him that he was almost exclusively a slot guy, and how much of a replication of Moore would you have there? Moore, though, almost evenly split his snaps last season between inside and outside. Boyd's percentage of snaps out wide decreased significantly once the Bengals drafted Higgins in 2020 and Ja'Marr Chase in 2021. Boyd would bring an established reliability as a pass catcher to whatever team he goes to, which is something the Browns need more of at that position. … One of those at the top of the market is Brown, who was originally drafted by the Ravens but traded to Arizona two seasons ago. What he would provide the Browns is a quick and fast receiver to help add more explosiveness to the passing game. While he's closing in on 27, he's also a younger veteran who could be positioned to take over for Amari Cooper, who'll be 30 and in his 10th season. … Davis has been a polarizing figure in discussions about the receivers in free agency. There's been some criticism of him for not fully living up to some of the expectations among Buffalo Bills fans, mostly through a high drop rate and a high frequency of vanishing for stretches of games. The ability that draws people to the former fourth-round pick is the speed. It's truly a take-the-top-off-type of speed, which is exactly what the Browns need. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That's definitely true with regards to Davis. … If Davis is exhibit A for that, then Mooney may be exhibit B. When the Chicago Bears drafted him in the fifth round, they saw massive potential. In Mooney's first two seasons, that potential appeared to be blossoming, capped by a 1,055-yard 2021 season. Injury hampered his 2022 season, but he followed it up with a career-low 31-catch, 414-yard performance last season. So what happened, and is it fixable? That's the challenge with Mooney, one the Browns will have to think about if they choose to pursue him. … Samuel is another one who isn't a No. 1, but more in the No. 2 or No. 3 receiver, especially in an offense that has someone like Cooper. Still, Samuel can catch the football, which he's done 126 times for 1,269 yards over the last two seasons combined. That was coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season, his first in Washington. Samuel is similar to Boyd in that his usage has come significantly more in the slot over the last two season than out wide.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns potential 2024 free agent targets: Offense