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One of the 49ers free agent we expected to gain some interest this week was defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois. Although he has only made spot starts over the last two years, Ricky Jean brings versatility that a lot of teams covet. He can play all three positions on the defensive line in a 3-4, but he also can move around in a nickel defense and potentially a 4-3 base defense.
The Ricky Jean Francois rumor mill continues to flow as more and more teams are coming out of the woodwork.
#browns are believed to be interested in 49ers free agent DT Ricky Jean-Francois, 6-3, 295. 26 years, former 7th rounder.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) March 10, 2013
The Browns previously ran a 4-3 defense. They recently hired Ray Horton away from the Arizona Cardinals, to be their defensive coordinator under new head coach Rob Chudzinski. Initially, Chudzinski indicated the team planned to use a hybrid 3-4/4-3 defense. Horton quickly corrected that, indicating the team would run a similar 3-4 to what Horton used with the Cardinals.
Whatever the case, Ricky Jean Francois could fit in with the Browns. Horton spent the last two years with the Cardinals, and while he might not know everything about RJF, he has a bit of a head-start.
The #Eagles are one of the teams that have showed interest in #49ers free agent DL Ricky Jean Francois, source says.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) March 10, 2013
This follows a tweet from Ian Rapoport a couple weeks ago speculating that the Eagles could make sense as a landing spot.
Beyond that, the list of places that have appeared in reports include the Tennessee Titans (report), Baltimore Ravens (report) and Green Bay Packers (report). Adam Caplan is reporting the Browns are the eighth team to express interest in Ricky Jean Francois. Are there any reports I've missed to date?