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C LeCharles Bentley (2001 Rimington Award & 2 time Pro Bowler)

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DDN

Bentley says he'll start somewhere

Browns center says he's even stronger and more explosive than before he tore a ligament in his knee.

​

By Sean McClelland
Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

BEREA ? LeCharles Bentley plans to resume his NFL career one way or another, one place or another. If not with his hometown Cleveland Browns, so be it.
"I'm just looking for an opportunity to compete, be it here or somewhere else, to show what I can do at an extremely high level," Bentley said Tuesday, June 10, after being cleared to practice with the Browns for the first time in nearly two years.
Bentley, who has missed two seasons due to a torn left knee ligament, four surgeries and a life-threatening staph infection, went through drills with fellow linemen on the first day of a three-day minicamp after passing his physical and a running test.
"I'm as good as I'm going to get," the former Ohio State standout said afterward. "I'm ready to go. Sky's the limit right now for me. I'm going to end up being a better player behind all this. I feel stronger, more explosive than I've ever been. As far as my playing ability, I'm not worried about that at all."
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ABJ

Browns' Bentley blocking out doubt Time will tell if lineman has recaptured abilities
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008
BEREA: Some folks close to LeCharles Bentley promise he will play in the NFL in 2008.
Bentley promised the same thing Tuesday.
''There is absolutely zero doubt that I will be playing somewhere ? starting ? in 2008,'' Bentley said during the Browns' minicamp, according to a transcript the team provided.
Bold words, because they come from a guy who has missed two years and who conceded that the staph infection that he fought after tearing his patellar tendon in July 2006 was ''life-threatening.''
That Bentley was cleared to take part in the Browns' three-day minicamp is testament to his desire and his determination. That he stood on the sidelines and did not take part in full drills is indicative of what has yet to happen.
Bentley clearly wants to play football again. But let's keep perspective: It's minicamp, and nobody has seen Bentley play football since January 2006. That's 29 months in case anyone is counting. An elephant's gestation period is shorter.
So perhaps we should take this as coach Romeo Crennel said the Browns are taking it: day by day.
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CPD

Cleveland Browns offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley returns to practice field

Bentley says that he's 'blessed' to be able to return to practice
Wednesday, June 11, 2008Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
Horns did not herald the triumphant return of LeCharles Bentley to the practice field Tuesday. The moment some felt might never come was quiet and low-key.
Bentley walked gingerly and pensively to join his new Browns teammates. He jostled briefly with running back Jerome Harrison on the way out, but there was no backslapping or handshaking to celebrate the occasion.
Whatever congratulations ex tended to Bentley for overcom ing incredible odds and hard ships over nearly two years occurred before he took the field.

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Canton
Bentley says he's back for Browns, vows to play season
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA The first thing you notice about LeCharles Bentley is the guns.

You expect an NFL lineman's arms to be slabs of beef, but good gravy ? Bentley's biceps are cement mixers.

The second thing you notice is the 'tude. You remember Bentley as a tough-talking snarler. Immediately Tuesday, it became clear fighting through hell made him all the edgier.

The third thing is the legs.

Bentley's left knee, in which a patellar tendon blew in training camp 2006, was encased by a brace. Both ankles were heavily bound, making them look like two chubby mummies.

Wearing No. 57 over his heavily muscled upper body, sweating after practice, he looked the part of gladiator.

The return of any 28-year-old blocker who has been to Pro Bowls as a right guard and as a center would be a sight for any team's eyes.

The return to the Browns of LeCharles Bentley, a lifelong fan, a former St. Ignatius brute, an Ohio State collegian ? and one of the cruelest embodiments of The Cleveland Jinx ? was a vision unto itself.

Bentley made a splash not with his practice ? he didn't do much in the morning and sat out the afternoon session ? but with his words.
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Browns offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley is suited up and ready to go as the team began minicamp workouts in Berea on Tuesday.
 
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Amusing, to say the least, that the pic in Grad's article has Bentley standing next to a big headed overweight dude... and Bentley's guns are BIGGER than this dude's head... killer
 
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CPD

LeCharles Bentley asks for, receives release from Cleveland Browns

Posted by Mary Kay Cabot June 11, 2008 14:00PM

Updated: 2 p.m. EDT
Browns center LeCharles Bentley has asked for his release from the Browns and it's been granted, his agent Jonathan Feinsod said this afternoon.
"LeCharles came back to Cleveland to be in integral part of the Cleveland Browns, his hometown team,'' said Feinsod. "Through no fault of the Browns at all, they didn't know if LeCharles was going to come back or not and they moved on with their plans.
"But this is not the same team LeCharles signed with. They have commitments to other players. LeCharles is not ready to be an insurance policy at this point.''
Feinsod stressed that Bentley "did great on his physical and I know the Browns were very impressed. It wasn't anything about his health. He just feels he was not going to play the kind of role here he plans to play in 2008.''
Bentley left the building shortly after noon with a suitcase and was picked up by his mother. He had no comment at that time
"LeCharles' mindset is great,'' said Feinsod. "He had a near-death experience because of a staph infection and now he's completely healthy and ready to resume his All-Pro and Hall of Fame career.''
Feinsod said he has not started talking to other teams yet about Bentley, "but there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to play in 2008 and play at a high level.''
Bentley did say before he left the facility that he'd probably go back to Phoenix, where he has spent the bulk of the past two years rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee.
 
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That really sucks for the Browns. I know the line has improved over the last couple years, but there's no doubt in my mind that there would have been room for him to contribute to the team in the way he envisioned. I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I saw that the team had cleared him to practice. I had been given the impression that the Browns had pretty much discarded him a long time ago, which had me disappointed until it seemed yesterday that they were going to give him the chance to come all the way back and fulfill what they had brought him in to do for the team.

Best of luck to him, wherever he lands. If he continues to work as hard as he always has, I'm sure he will become a dominant force once again for whatever team gives him the chance.
 
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Great news for Bentley and the Browns, if he's able to play at the level he did before his injury. It was unreal how he got hurt his first day with the team.
 
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I've been a lifelong Browns fan - and the only ohter time I've been remotely this disappointed with them as an organization was when Modell announced he was moving them to Baltimore.

This sucks. For a player to show this much loyalty, work so hard, and not to have it paid back in kind by his team is bull***t.

Committments to other players? What about committments to players who got hurt playing football. Committments to players they already had before they signed these newer guys. They've shown a hell of a lot more loyalty and committment to players who have hurt themselves doing something stupid like riding a motorcycle they had no business being on.

How can you kick a Pro Bowl level player to the curb to make room for someone who can't even carry his jock? This early in the season, why not give him every chance to show he still can play - there's still plenty of time to make the decision. This isn't the 3rd or 4th preseason game or something.

Stupid stupid stupid. Even if Bentley was being pig-headed and expecting to be an immediate starter, you have to work him out and at least see if he can play.

This is one of the reasons why pro sports is so much more frustrating.
 
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NFBuck;1182105; said:
WTF? :huh:
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No kidding! What the hell's wrong with starting the year as a back-up to see if he's truly back to it? I applaud the Brown's for keeping him on contract during his injury, being willing to give him a shot at coming back, and for honoring his desire for release. I'm just surprised that he's that freaking impatient. Nonetheless, I don't have all the facts to know what all has transpired, but damn...
 
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