Bentley’s back

MARLA RIDENOUR
Akron Beacon Journal

June 11, 2008 01:57 am

— BEREA — It should have been an uplifting moment when the door to the Cleveland Browns’ weight room opened at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday and LeCharles Bentley sauntered onto the practice field after two years in oblivion.
The former Pro Bowl center’s left knee was encased in a brace, but his body, especially his massive arms, looked in game shape.
“I’m shopping off the rack,” he joked later.
But even as Bentley began what could be an amazing comeback from a torn patellar tendon and three more surgeries for a life- and limb-threatening staph infection, there was an underlying uncertainty. Not about Bentley, 28, playing football again, but whether it will be for his hometown Browns.
“Being a Brown is always going to be special to me,” Bentley said Tuesday. “I’ve been a diehard fan my entire life; that will never change. But if there’s one thing I’ve realized these last two years, there’s a business aspect to all of this.
“I actually took less money to play here. I came here because this was where my heart was. My heart is always going to be here. But one thing I’ve been shown on several occasions, sometimes business people have to make business decisions. We’ll see what happens.”
That said, he remains confident about what he’ll be doing on Week 1 in September.
“Oh, no doubt in my mind,” he said. “Zero doubt, absolutely I will be playing somewhere, starting in ’09.”
Pressed on the slip in dates, Bentley said, “’08, sorry. You know what I meant.”
Presumably, the decision Bentley foresees would not be about money. Signing a six-year, $36 million free-agent contract with the Browns after spending his first four years with the New Orleans Saints, the former Ohio State star already has made about $16 million from the Browns. He was hurt on the first play of his first full-pad practice in training camp in July 2006.
His contract has been restructured, making him a free agent after this season. His base salary in 2008 is $605,000, but incentives could earn him up to $4 million.
Bentley could have been referring to bad blood that prompted him to train in Phoenix. He said he would be headed back there when the Browns’ mandatory minicamp concludes Thursday.
There is also the dilemma of where Bentley would play. Hank Fraley seems established at center after being acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles in September 2006. Right guard might be an option, especially since Bentley spent his first two years there with the Saints and Ryan Tucker underwent hip surgery last month. Newly acquired Rex Hadnot is filling in.
“Well, I came here as a center. I would like to stay there,” Bentley said. “But whatever happens as far as getting the best five guys on the field doesn’t really matter to me.”
On Monday night, Bentley passed the Browns’ physical and a running test, which consisted of a series of 40-yard dashes. One Browns’ official gave the thumbs-up sign after Bentley made it through the first 10 sprints.
“I wasn’t worried at all. We did it many times in Arizona,” Bentley said.
Asked if he’s 100 percent, Bentley said, “I’m as good as I’m going to get. Obviously, I can get better at some things. The sky’s the limit right now. I feel much better, much stronger, much more explosive than I’ve ever been.”
Bentley participated only in individual drills Tuesday morning and was not on the field in the afternoon. But he looked good to teammates he barely knows.
“He’s in great shape,” Fraley said. “Before his injuries, he was a great player. I think he still has that mentality, and you’re going to see something special out of him because he’s going to keep working hard until he gets there.
“I wish I had his athletic ability. He’s very strong. Some of the things he does I can’t ever do.”
Coach Romeo Crennel said the Browns will manage Bentley’s participation, which might mean only one practice during two-a-days.
“It’s too early to say what kind of impact he’s going to have,” Crennel said. “Any player who comes back from an injury has to prove himself all over again.”
General manager Phil Savage said “it has been a long road back” for Bentley.
“We have to give him a lot of credit for the amount of work and effort he has put into this,” Savage said. “You have to tip your hat to the fact that he really wants to be here.”
Bentley said his first hit in pads won’t be traumatic because it happened last fall when the Browns considered bringing him off the physically unable to perform list.
“I had full contact back in October,” Bentley said. “They brought out some defensive linemen, the linebackers, I did very well. The issue was about my running and mechanics. My knee holding up, I’ve established that. If you don’t believe me, put on the pads.”
Whether that’s all bluster, Bentley admitted he’s been through a grueling emotional journey.
“I went from not expecting to have a leg, not expecting to live. ... you’re not even thinking about football,” he said. “Then I go from that to, ‘You’re never going to play again. You’ll be lucky to walk normal.’ Now you’re looking at quality of life. There were so many times I wanted to quit, but I just couldn’t quit.”
Now Bentley has “let go” of his dream of playing for the Browns.
“The rest of my time as a football player, it’s not about me being the best or going to Pro Bowls,” he said. “I’m trying to show people if you believe in something, you pray hard, you work hard, you stay steadfast in your faith, anything can happen. As long as you’re with the Lord, anything’s possible.”

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