BEREA – Browns offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley returned to practice Tuesday at minicamp, the first time he’s worked with the team since tearing his left patellar tendon in July 2006.

Bentley, a Cleveland native, passed the team’s physical Monday afternoon, which included a series of drills and 40-yard dashes.

He said there’s no doubt he’ll be starting somewhere in the NFL on opening day in September. He’s a center, but can also play guard.

Bentley, a former Pro Bowler with the New Orleans Saints, signed a six-year, $36 million deal with the Browns in March 2006. In the first contact play of training camp, he went down in a heap with a torn patellar tendon.

He then suffered a staph infection and had three more surgeries. The team redid Bentley’s contract last year, making 2008 the final year of the deal.

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