BEREA — LeCharles Bentley sat on a bench outside Browns headquarters Wednesday afternoon waiting for his mom to pick him up. When she arrived in a white luxury car, he rolled his small piece of luggage to the curb, placed it in the trunk and was driven away.
A couple of hours later, the team announced that Bentley had asked for and been granted his release. It marked the end to one of the more disappointing chapters in Browns history.
“We felt like we wanted to oblige that request,” general manager Phil Savage said. “We wish him the best of luck in his pursuits.”
Bentley’s career with the Browns consisted of less than two practices, no games, four surgeries and much heartbreak. He signed with the Browns in March 2006 as a big-name free-agent offensive lineman eager to restore pride to a struggling franchise. A little more than two years later, he hopes to continue playing, just not with his hometown team.
“If things were right, and if things were handled differently, obviously I would still be a member of the team,” Bentley said on WKNR 850-AM. “There was a lot of water under the bridge and it was just the best thing that I felt for myself and the team to part ways as men.”
“If this was what he chose to do, then I’m good with it,” coach Romeo Crennel said. “I think he’s at peace with himself, about his decision.”
Bentley tore a patellar tendon in his first practice with the Browns in July 2006. He suffered a staph infection he described as life-threatening and needed three more surgeries. He was finally able to pass the team’s physical Monday, which included 20 timed 40-yard dashes, and returned to practice Tuesday morning.
“I tip my hat in a big way to what he did Monday night,” Savage said.
On Wednesday, Bentley was gone.
“When LeCharles got hurt two years ago, the situation was way different,” Jonathan Feinsod, his agent, said by phone. “The Browns didn’t know whether he’d be able to come back and had moves they needed to make.
“LeCharles isn’t ready to be an insurance policy. He’s ready to resume his Pro Bowl career.”
“There is no way for us to know whether he can or cannot,” Savage said of Bentley being able to complete his comeback.
The Browns had moved on during Bentley’s time away. They won 10 games in 2007 and are expected to contend for the playoffs this season. Savage spent millions rebuilding and creating depth on an offensive line that had been a weak spot for years.
“We feel like the landscape of our team has changed from July 2006 to where we are in June 2008,” Savage said.
Bentley, 28, was a two-time Pro Bowler with the New Orleans Saints before signing a six-year, $36 million deal with the Browns. (He reportedly wound up receiving about $16 million from the team, including a $12.5 million signing bonus.)
His smile was huge when he put on the Browns jersey for the first time and talked about the excitement of coming home. He’s a native Clevelander who played at St. Ignatius and Ohio State, and the signing invigorated the town.
“It was a unique circumstance, in terms of him being a local icon, playing at St. Ignatius, Ohio State,” Savage said. “It was going to be the trifecta in playing for the Browns. It just didn’t work out.”
The relationship between Bentley and the team had become strained during his attempt to come back. He spent the majority of his rehabilitation away from the team, was upset when the team didn’t pass him on his physical in October and had the original contract shortened to end following the 2008 season.
“Things that happened weren’t good and there were a lot of bad things that happened and things that were done that shouldn’t have been done,” Bentley said.
Savage said he didn’t know if the relationship had become so bad that it couldn’t be saved.
“For the good of the team and the organization, I think it is good to have some closure for everybody involved,” he said.
Bentley is confident he’ll catch on somewhere else and become a starter in 2008. Are the Browns worried he’ll return to his Pro Bowl form after they let him walk away?
“I have no concern,” Crennel said. “I hope he goes back. If he becomes the player he was before, more power to him.”
That would be just another twist on the sad and strange tale involving Bentley and the Browns.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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