BEREA: Austin Reiter’s demise is emblematic of the bad luck the Browns have had this season.
They throw a promising young center into the fire, and he plays well in his NFL regular-season debut, only to suffer a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-20 loss to Washington.
Reiter’s devastating setback will force the injury riddled Browns (0-4) to change starting centers for the third time in their first five games. Reiter will be placed on injured reserve, and John Greco is planning to move from right guard to start at center Sunday at home against the New England Patriots (3-1).
“[Reiter] did an outstanding job,” coach Hue Jackson said Monday. “I was extremely happy and pleased with his play. He battled. He gave us an opportunity to run the ball extremely well, did a great job in directing protections and doing those things. It is unfortunate that he got hurt because he was doing some really good things.”
Center Cameron Erving started the first two games, but Jackson said the 2015 first-round draft pick will sit out his third consecutive game Sunday with a bruised lung.
Greco started at center in Week 3, and Alvin Bailey moved into the lineup at right guard. Bailey was arrested the morning of Sept. 26 and benched by Jackson this past weekend. The discipline allowed Reiter, signed off Washington’s practice squad Sept. 20, to start and Greco to slide back to right guard.
Jackson said Bailey’s punishment is over, an indication the Browns plan to start Greco at center and Bailey at right guard against the Patriots.
“I don’t hold grudges,” Jackson said.
Rookie Spencer Drango played right guard against Washington after Reiter was injured, so he’s another candidate to crack the lineup.
The Browns will also look to acquire a center, Jackson said.
“The past three, four, five years, we’ve been kind of invincible up front injury-wise,” Greco said. “Now you’re seeing it starting to trickle in, and it’s just kind of bad luck.”
Still in driver’s seat
Jackson also ruled out veteran Josh McCown (fractured left collarbone) for Sunday, so rookie quarterback Cody Kessler will make his third consecutive start when the Patriots come to town.
The Browns will be big underdogs against the Patriots as quarterback Tom Brady comes off his four-game suspension from Deflategate.
“He is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game,” said Kessler, who grew up watching Brady. “ ... That can’t have any factor in my mind. Obviously, I know that he has done a great job of putting up points.”
In two starts, Kessler has completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 467 yards and a touchdown with an interception, posting a passer rating of 83.5. His third-down completion percentage of 81.8 (18-of-22) ranks first among the 31 quarterbacks the NFL lists in its third-down passing leaders category. He ranks seventh in the league with a third-down passer rating of 106.6.
“He’s doing a great job,” wide receiver Terrelle Pryor said. “He’s managing the games well. ... That’s all you need, really. There’s a lot of quarterbacks in the league that have been starting for a long time and they manage it. I think he does more than that because he’s pretty darn good on third down.”
So long
Instead of welcoming outside linebacker Armonty Bryant back from suspension, the Browns cut him. Bryant’s four-game ban for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs ended Monday, and the Browns announced at 9:26 a.m. they waived him.
“We have moved on, and we wish him well,” Jackson said. “ ... We are laying the right foundation here. It is important to do it the right way.”
Bryant, a seventh-round draft pick in 2013, appeared in 31 games with four starts and compiled 71 tackles, including 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his first three NFL seasons. He was a third-string edge rusher in training camp this past summer.
The league will likely discipline Bryant, 26, again because in July he pleaded guilty to attempted drug possession, a first-degree misdemeanor. The charge was amended after Bryant was indicted in February on two counts of felony drug possession stemming from a Christmas morning traffic stop and pleaded not guilty.
Status is status quo
The release of Bryant came on the heels of the Browns making it clear they plan to part with troubled former All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was to return from suspension Monday until he checked into inpatient rehab last week.
“He remains on the team’s reserve/suspended by commissioner list pending further notice,” an NFL spokesman said Monday.
Other injury updates
• Tight end Randall Telfer suffered a right high-ankle sprain Sunday. “I’m just going to attack the rehab as hard as I attack the games,” said Telfer, adding the anticipated timetable for his return is four to six weeks.
• Rookie defensive end Carl Nassib (surgically repaired broken left hand) will return to practice this week after sitting out two games, Jackson said.
• Strong safety Ibraheim Campbell (hamstring) will have his work “ramped up” this week after sitting out two games and being limited in practice last week, Jackson said.
• Robert Griffin III will have his broken left shoulder re-evaluated this week, and the exam could determine whether the quarterback will need surgery, Jackson said. Griffin was placed on injured reserve Sept. 12 and could very well be out for the rest of the season.
• The Browns may promote tight end Connor Hamlett from their practice squad with Telfer and rookie tight end Seth DeValve (left knee) sidelined.