Browns lose No. 1 center Harris to knee injury
Browns starting center Nick Harris is expected to have season-ending surgery on his right knee, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
Harris underwent an MRI on Saturday after he was injured on the second play of a 24-13 preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bull rushed by Jaguars defensive tackle Davon Hamilton, Harris was carted to the locker room .
"All these injuries stink," Stefanski said. "Nick certainly is a guy that's been working so hard this offseason."
The Browns released JC Tretter, their starter for the past five seasons, in a cost-saving move on March 15 and handed the job to Harris, a fifth-round pick out of the University of Washington in 2020.
President of the NFL Players Association, Tretter, 31, remains an unsigned free agent, but Stefanski would not comment on potential roster moves.
With Tretter gone, Harris was replaced instead by Ethan Pocic, who signed a one-year $1.187 millon contract with Cleveland in March.
"I want to make note that Ethan did a nice job, and he's done a nice job since April," Stefanski said. "Excited about what he can bring to the table."
Pocic may be their best option, especially if the Browns are reserving salary cap space to bring in another starting quarterback should Deshaun Watson be suspended for the season.
Pocic, 27, a second-round pick of the Seahawks in 2017 out of LSU, started 40 of his 57 games played for Seattle. He started 10 of 13 games in 2021 and ranked 15th among 39 qualifying centers graded by Profootballfocus.com. Tretter was sixth in those rankings.
"He's a physical football player. He's a big center; he's got really good size," Stefanski said of Pocic, who is 6-6 and 320 pounds.
Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett taking over starter’s reps
With the Browns still awaiting the ruling on the NFL appeal of Watson's six-game suspension for violation of the league's personal conduct policy, backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett began to get the bulk of the starter's reps Sunday.
“That has been the plan really from the beginning is just to at some point let Jacoby get the majority of them, still work Deshaun, still work Josh Dobbs and still work Josh Rosen, but Jacoby will get the majority starting this block,” Stefanski said.
The week includes joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday and Friday ahead of Sunday afternoon's preseason home game.