Newcomer Bentley out for season

BEREA (AP) -- Stretched out on a flatbed cart, LeCharles Bentley covered his face with a towel to hide his disappointment and tears.
This wasn't the homecoming he had planned.
His first season with the Cleveland Browns ended before it began.
Bentley, a two-time Pro Bowl center and one of the team's prized free agent signings this winter, sustained a season-ending injury to his left knee Thursday in the first 11-on-11 drill of training camp. The loss is a crushing blow for a club that has been cursed by major injuries the past few seasons but has improved its roster and has high hopes for 2006.
"He was the face of our free agent class," general manager Phil Savage said. "We feel terrible for LeCharles, but life goes on."
Surgery
Savage said Bentley tore his patellar tendon and will undergo surgery as early as today. Savage declined to say if Bentley's tear was partial or complete and would not speculate on a time frame for recovery.
Blocking for Reuben Droughns on an off-tackle running play to the right, Bentley, who played four years in New Orleans, was briefly engaged in a block with nose tackle Ted Washington when his left knee buckled.
Bentley screamed, "No!" and grabbed his knee as coach Romeo Crennel and his staff blew their whistles to halt play. While on his knees, Bentley, one of the NFL's premier centers, punched the ground in disgust as the Browns moved their scrimmage up the field so the club's medical staff could attend to him.
As Bentley was being helped, line mates Joe Andruzzi and Cosey Coleman came over to check on the 26-year-old, who sat on the ground for several minutes before being carted to the locker room.
Beset by setbacks
Bentley's injury is the latest for a Browns team beset by serious medical setbacks -- No. 1 overall picks Courtney Brown and quarterback Tim Couch had several major injuries -- since the club returned to the league as an expansion team in 1999.
On Thursday, tight end Kellen Winslow had his first contact after missing the past two seasons with major leg injuries. The Browns also are without wide receiver Braylon Edwards, their first-round pick in 2005, who is expected to be out until Oct. 1 following knee surgery.
As Bentley lay on the ground, several of the Browns were reminded of the team's star-crossed history.
"Lee [Suggs] said, 'Another Browns injury,' " said Droughns, who slowed up on the play when he heard someone yell that a player was down.
When Winslow was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident before last season, Savage, who was beginning his first year in Cleveland, complained about Browns fans feeling as if their team was jinxed. Despite Bentley's injury, he said the club has to push on.
"We have to stay above the talk of the negativity and stay above the talk of the Browns have done this or this has happened," he said. "We're going to have the mind set and frame of mind going forward that we're going to get the job done. We're going to do some great things this season."
Bentley's injury seemed to sap the spirit out of the morning practice, which ended with thunder rumbling in the distance.
Wanted to protect Frye
The Browns signed Bentley to protect second-year quarterback Charlie Frye and help an offense that scored a league-low 232 points last season. On Wednesday, Crennel cited center as the club's biggest need, and after Bentley was signed, the Browns traded center Jeff Faine on draft day to the Saints.
Savage said the club will look to add a free agent lineman in the next few days to back up Bob Hallen, who will move into Bentley's starting spot.
For the morning workout, Crennel had his players only wearing shoulder pads, hoping that staying out of full pads on Day 2 of training camp would help them avoid injuries. Crennel said players are reminded to be careful.
"The first general rule is to stay off the ground and protect your teammates," he said. "Sometimes guys will give an extra push in competition. Sometimes they pull a guy down. We talked to them about not giving them that extra push and not pulling guys down."
Took over as center
Bentley took over as the Saints center in training camp two years ago. He started all 16 games in 2004 and was named a Pro Bowl alternate. Last year, he made 14 starts before missing the final two games with an elbow injury.
Bentley, who played at Cleveland's St. Ignatius High School and Ohio State, decided not to re-sign with the Saints for a chance to come home and play for the Browns. He signed a six-year, $36 million deal in March that included $12.5 million in guaranteed money.
"He probably wanted to play for the Cleveland Browns as much as anyone we have," Savage said.
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