... were they vetting him out or negotiating a cost, was the signing of Ragas a put-in-place backup measure until Brown's deal was secured?

Only Les and his shadow knows...

He can be that thumper running back who will get three to maybe seven yards, more if he's lucky, a good share of the time when we need it.

When a wheel comes off or the engine starts to sputter, here comes our pit crew - why do we doubt?