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

[Best Buckeye]

I have mixed emotions about this attempt. As an OSU and Browns fan it would be nice to see him back. The reality is that I want him to have a normal life and this might ruin the quality of his life after football. I just hope he doesn't make a bad situation worse.

Well said

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Bentley says he'll be ready for camp

Browns center trying for comeback after knee injury, serious infection

By Tom Withers

Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Center LeCharles Bentley, whose first season with the Browns ended with a freakish knee injury last summer that became infected and threatened his life and NFL career, plans to play for the Browns this season.
The Browns' marquee free-agent signing in 2006, Bentley said Sunday that he will report to training camp in a few weeks and that his goal is to be ready for the season opener on Sept. 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.



Cont...

 

[redskinbucksfan]

Unfortunately, I get the feeling that this is probably going to be the end of pro football for LeCharles. I just think that he feels like he's going to give it one last try and he will find out the knee just isn't up to it. OL is too demanding of a position. It's hard for elite atheletes to see the writing on the wall. Good luck to him, and hopefully he does what's in his best long term interest.

 

[MrsB]

 

[schwab]

 

[Bleed S & G]

browns line went from the worst in the league to one of the best over one off-season

the addition of bently puts them over the top, from all reports in the browns camp he is getting more confident and more fire in his belly everyday

 

[exhawg]

This is great news for the Browns if LeCharles is really ready to come back. Even if he is around 90% he will be an upgrade from what they had. With the upgrades that they had on the rest of the OL the Center won't have to carry the team as much as they were probably planning on him doing last year.

 

[Bleed S & G]

This is great news for the Browns if LeCharles is really ready to come back. Even if he is around 90% he will be an upgrade from what they had. With the upgrades that they had on the rest of the OL the Center won't have to carry the team as much as they were probably planning on him doing last year.

you also have the option of playing bently at gaurd and hopefully helping his knee out

 

[IronBuckI]

you also have the option of playing bently at gaurd and hopefully helping his knee out

That's what I was thinking as well. Leave Fraley at center, put Bentley at guard and let Tucker, Shafer, and Thomas fight it out for the two tackle spots. Could be an extremely good o-line this year.

 

[schwab]

A little story about LeCharles, circa 1999....

I lived in Morrill Tower on the 5th floor, same as DT Ryan Pickett and his roommate DE Julius Yeast, and frequently we would run into LeCharles while he was hanging out with Pick, via water fountain, elevators and what not. Fast forward to the end of the year. I guess LeCharles found out I had the NCAA football game Gamebreaker for my Playstation, and we ran into each other in the lobby one night. He asked me if I had it, and I told him I did. He asked me if he could borrow it for awhile. I told him the only way he could borrow it was to come to my room and beat me at it fair and square, and that only then he could borrow it. (The guy has all kinds of size on me, but he agreed...:tongue2:) We set it up, he came to my room, and promptly beat my ass on the game. A deal being a deal, he got what he came for, and then took the game with him to "borrow."

Fast forward a couple weeks. I finished my exams 2 or 3 days ahead of the actual move out deadline, and I had my stuff packed, and ready to go, all except for this game that LeCharles had borrowed. When I went to find him thru Pick, he was back home in Cleveland, apparently done for the year, and not to be heard from again. I got took, right? I drove the 2 hours home.

My roommate needed a ride and my truck to move his junk back (we are from the same town), so I begrudgingly offered to come back down to get him and his stuff a couple days later. When I got there, what was the first thing he said? "LeCharles Bentley was just looking for you, and said you would probably want this." It was my damn game!

This guy is in my top 5 favorite Buckeyes of all time, and not necessarily because of this stupid little story. I have many more stories about many more Buckeyes, but I digress. If you've ever met him, he has one helluva sense of humor, and honestly, is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I wish nothing but the best for him, and Browns fan or not, I hope he gets to meet his goals, and play again one day in the NFL. Good luck, LeCharles!

EDIT: Also, I know that LeCharles would never say this, so I will say it for him....FUCK OFF JIM OTTO!!!!!!! I feel better now....

 

[sandgk]

An optimistic Bentley talked with Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel around the 4th of July holiday/

Reported on Scout (Free - "Worst to First?")

The Browns' offensive line, one of the worst in the NFL for years, has the potential to be one of the best in the league this season if LeCharles Bentley can accomplish his goal of making a comeback from a severe patellar tendon injury.

Since February, Bentley had kept the Browns in the dark on his plans for 2007; he might undergo another operation, or he might play on the left patellar tendon torn on the first play of training camp last summer. On a day when most people were planning Fourth of July picnics, Bentley called coach Romeo Crennel to say he will be in uniform and ready to go when the Browns open camp July 27. Bentley said Crennel was 'shocked.'

"It's unbelievable how far I've come in the last few months," Bentley told the Associated Press in a phone interview from Arizona, where he has been training the past few months. "I feel so blessed to even be in a position to think about playing again. I've come so far. I'm not going to stop now."

Bentley said he has undergone four operations since being injured. The last two were to clean out a staph infection that was so serious doctors considered amputating his left leg.

Dr. Russell Warren, the Giants' team physician, performed the last surgery and told Bentley another one might be needed in early June. Warren decided not to do a fifth operation.

Bentley still has to pass his physical with the Browns before he can participate in training camp. But if he does get the go-ahead and plays without further injury, the Browns' offensive line will have been transformed overnight by football standards.

Continued ...

 

[NFBuck]

I'd be thilled to see LeCharles in a Browns uni at all at this point. Gotta wonder what kind of effect this injury had on him ability-wise though.:(

 

[Buckskin86]

Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley expects to return for opener against Pittsburgh Steelers
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter

Browns center LeCharles Bentley will undergo a physical Monday in New York with Dr. Russell Warren, the next step in his bid to return this season from a torn patella tendon and a severe staph infection.

"I think they're going to pass him," said Bentley's agent, Jonathan Feinsod. "Then, he can start preparing for the Steelers on Sept. 9."

If Bentley passes the physical, he'll most likely then have to pass the Browns' physical by team physician Dr. Tony Miniaci, and perhaps that of a third doctor. If he passes those, he'll report to camp with the rest of the veterans on Friday.

cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

 

[Buckskin86]

Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley passes physical
Posted by Mary Kay Cabot July 23, 2007 12:25PM
Categories: Breaking News, Browns

Browns center LeCharles Bentley passed his physical in New York Monday morning and has been cleared by his surgeon to resume football activity, Bentley said Monday.

"I'm excited," said Bentley, who's returning from a torn patella tendon and complications from a staph infection. "It's the next step toward getting back on the field."

Browns general manager Phil Savage said last week that Bentley must also pass the Browns' physical by team physician Dr. Anthony Miniaci and perhaps that of a third doctor before being cleared to practice. But Bentley feels that Dr. Warren's blessing should be sufficient and that he'll report to training camp with the veterans on July 27th.

"Dr. Warren is the expert in his field, he's the last person who operated on me and he's told me I'm fine," said Bentley. "It doesn't really matter to me what another doctor says at this point."

Bentley said he will begin working out individually and probably won't be ready for contact for about five weeks. He said he hopes to play in the final preseason game and if all goes as planned, be ready for the opener.

Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley passes physical - Cleveland Sports News – The Latest Breaking News, Game Recaps and Scores from The Plain Dealer

 

[exhawg]

Fingers crossed