Bentley Done for the Season

UPDATED 6:00PM: The Browns have confirmed that C Charles Bentley has a torn patellar tendon and will be lost for the season. Bentley was carted off the field this morning after suffering an unspecified injury to his left leg. We will update this story constantly throughout the day...

UPDATE 6:00PM An agonizing day ends with a thud as the Browns confirm that C LeCharles Bentley has a torn patellar tendon and will be lost for the season. Phil Savage passed along the news prior to tonight's practice. This will be our final update in this article unless there is significant new information which makes its way through a deep alcoholic haze which will likely be overcoming your distraught webmaster in the near future.

UPDATE 2:15PM For those of you not agonizing enough at prospect of Bentley being carted from the field, Channel 5 actually has video of the play where Bentley was hurt, as well as video of Crennel talking about it. You have to sit though a commercial about shampoo or something first, but it helps a bit to see what actually happened.

UPDATE 1:00PM The Browns official site has offered up a brief recap of Crennel's comments about the "twisted knee", echoing our earlier report about Crennel's admitting that he was speculating. Link

UPDATE 12:20PM Our sources at training camp in Berea have contacted us and told us they feel Bentley's injury is likely a patella tear.

Head Coach Romeo Crennel told reporters that Bentley "had a twisted knee", but quickly added that he needed to hear more after the MRI. At present, our friends in Berea are skeptical about Crennel's assessment. The way Bentley was removed from the field and had his leg put in a cast is consistent with a patella tear. We will continue to await more definitive medical news.

UPDATE 12:15PM We have an on-site report from our friends at Huddlegeeks, where Jason Clarke was on the sidelines when this happened:
People, this did not look good as I was watching from the sidelines. It was the first 11 on 11 play run, with full pads during this training camp and I noticed that Bentley was still sitting on the ground when the play ended. I said to myself, "C'mon LeCharles, get up!" and it just never happened... After an air cast was placed on his left leg, Bently could not even limp onto the cart. He was carried onto the cart by two or three solemn looking Browns players. After being placed on the cart, Bentley took off his pads and laid flat on his back in disgust and pain."

UPDATE 11:45AM: Reports from Berea now suggest that the injury might be a tear to the patella tendon. Here is a report from the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot:

Preliminary word is that it could be an injury to the patella tendon. Bentley was taken to the Cleveland Clinic immediately and was to undergo an MRI to determine the exact extent of the injury.

For those of you wondering what a patella tendon tear might mean, YSUfan found this article and posted it in the Watercooler:

Patella Tendon Ruptures

Here's another article with more information on this type of problem with knees, provided by DougEFresh, also in the Cooler:

Tendinitis and Ruptured Tendons

UPDATE 10:55AM:

ESPN has re-purposed a wire service story (probably AP) and offers the following:

Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley sustained an injury to his left knee during the Browns' first 11-on-11 drill of training camp on Thursday.

Bentley got tangled in a pile of players as he was blocking on a running play for Reuben Droughns.

Bentley screamed, "No," before remaining on his knees as the Browns moved their scrimmage up the field so trainers could attend to the 6-foot-2, 309-pound player.

He stayed on the ground in a seated position for several minutes before Cleveland's medical staff immobilized his left knee and carted him to the locker room.

Bentley covered his face with a towel on the short drive to the field house as Browns players and fans looked on in shock.

The extent of Bentley's injury is not yet known.

The problem with this story is that it states that the injury is to Bentley's left knee. This may be the case, it may not be. We will continue to wait for more definitive word from the Browns medical staff.

UPDATE 10:15AM: After being taken from the field, Bentley was fitted with an air cast on his left leg, which provides an initial indication that the problem may be with his left fibula rather than the knee.

All of this is based on observation from the sidelines. There has been no word from the team as of yet.

INITIAL REPORT: Reports from Browns training camp in Berea indicate that free agent center LeCharles Bentley has been taken off the field on a cart. He was holding his left knee.

Stay tuned to the OBR for more information...