Bentley and Marino recalled
In watching future Pro Football Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, in just his fourth play as a member of the New York Jets, suffer a torn Achilles tendon that will end his season, and possibly also his long career, against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football a couple days ago, two former notable players — their stories —immediately came to mind.
One is Dan Marino, and the other is LeCharles Bentley.
It was Oct. 10, 1993 when HOF quarterback Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins were playing the Browns at Cleveland Stadium. Late in the second quarter, Marino, while scrambling on the dirt part of the infield before it had been resodded following the end of the baseball season a couple years before, fell down with no one around him. It was as if he had been shot.
He had suffered a torn Achilles tendon and would miss the rest of that season, though he returned to play a few more years before retiring.
On came unheralded backup Scott Mitchell, whose first pass was intercepted by cornerback Nager Mustafaa and returned 97 yards for a touchdown to give the the Browns a 14–10 lead.
But Mitchell would gather himself at halftime and throw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to rally the Dolphins to a 24–14 victory. Mitchell, just as surprisingly, also played very well in the following weeks until getting hurt. He was able to parlay his impressive stint into a big free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions, for whom he played miserably. It was a disaster — but a fortunate one for the hefty lefty.
Bentley, a center and a product of both Cleveland St. Ignatius Higb School and Ohio State, was drafted by the New Orleans Saints 2002 and in his four seasons with them made the Pro bowl twice. He then went on to the free-agent market and signed with the hometown Browns in 2006. He was rated as the top free agent available overall in the NFL that offseason, and as such, his arrival was considered a big coup for second-year General Manager Phil Savage.
But, on the start of the second day of training camp, while running out to block on a screen pass, he went down in a heap with no one around him. He had torn his patella tendon and would never play another down of football in the NFL.
With the exception of well-traveled, old-school head coach Romeo Crennel, who merely hitched up his short pants and dug his heels into the grass, the Browns coaches and executives standing on the opposite side of the field watching, were physically knocked backward a step or two and had the look of people who had just seen a horrible accident. And in a lot of ways, they had.
The Browns were able to work a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to get Hank Fraley to replace Bentley and, fortunately, he was a good player for several years.
But, in no way, shape or form was Hank Fraley anything close to LeCharles Bentley in terms of what he could’ve done for the Browns.
So, the moral of the story is that what happened to Rodgers on Monday night, when disaster struck out of nowhere and caused things to change drastically in the veritable blink of an eye, do, unfortunately, take occasionly in the NFL, and every time they do, they leave a lasting impression.
By Steve King
Browns place RT Jack Conklin on injured reserve
BEREA, Ohio — The Browns have placed RT Jack Conklin (knee) on injured reserve. The team has also signed G Michael Dunn to the active roster from the practice squad. In addition, the Browns have signed T Ty Nsekhe and DT Tommy Togiai to the practice squad and released CB Lorenzo Burns from the practice squad.
Conklin, a two-time first team All-Pro selection, sustained a knee injury in the second quarter against the Bengals. He has started 37 games at right tackle since joining the Browns as an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
Dunn has appeared in 28 regular season games with four starts since initially joining the Browns in 2020. Last season, he appeared in eight games with two starts. The Maryland product spent Week 1 on the Browns’ practice squad.
Nsekhe (6-8, 325) is in his 10th NFL season out of Texas State. Originally signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2012, Nsekhe has appeared in 103 regular season games with 25 starts with the Rams (2012 and 2022), Commanders (2015-18), Bills (2019-20) and Cowboys (2021). Last season, he started eight games with the Rams.
Togiai was a fourth-round pick by the Browns in 2021. He has appeared in 18 games with two starts and compiled 29 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery. The Ohio State product spent training camp with the Browns and Week 1 of the regular season on the Jaguars’ practice squad.
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