With more cuts looming, Cleveland Browns won't confirm OT Ryan Tucker's departureby Mary Kay Cabot/Plain Dealer Reporter
Monday August 31, 2009, 9:07 PMBefore he struggled in recent days in practice, Ryan Tucker expressed enthusiasm for returning to the Browns and competing for a starting spot. Monday, the veteran offensive lineman was reportedly cut from the team.
BEREA, Ohio -- Browns offensive lineman Ryan Tucker, who battled back from hip and knee surgeries last season to try and return for a 13th year in 2009, reportedly has been released by the team -- though his name did not appear on the list of NFL transactions Monday.
The Browns, who need to trim three more players Tuesday to get their roster down to 75, declined to confirm the WKNR AM/850 report.
Tucker, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last Wednesday, according to the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, struggled to get through a bag drill two days before that and hasn't been seen around the facility since.
Tucker was listed at second-team right guard behind Floyd Womack. He also worked some at right tackle, where he started for most of his seven seasons with the Browns.
In his most recent preseason game against Detroit, Tucker was on the field in the fourth quarter with fourth- and fifth-team players. Still, he was determined to play this season and was believed to be upset when the Browns let him go.
Tucker admitted early in camp that he contemplated retiring after the June minicamp. But he recommitted himself to the game and said he had no plans of walking away.
During minicamp, Tucker said he was grateful for the opportunity to continue playing.
"Nothing's really given to you at this level by any means," he said. "You realize how important and how much fun this is. It's everything to me."
At the time, he said he still had plenty left.
"I'm enjoying myself," Tucker said in the early days of camp. "I'm with my teammates, we've got a whole new crew, all new excitement and I'm in a good place right now."
"Physically I'm still as strong, and I'm just as quick," Tucker said. "My weight's still good, and I'm better looking," he added, laughing.
Tucker's tumultuous career with the Browns included missing time in 2006 because of an emotional disorder and being suspended for four games in 2007 because of steroid use.
"All that stuff is very humbling," he said in May. "The man upstairs has a great way of putting you in your place, regardless of whatever challenge or obstacles you may have. The bottom line is that this is what I do, and I'm going to do it as long as I can or until I'm told that I can't -- and I'm not there yet."
Tucker was excited about the new regime and the direction of the team.
"I'm enjoying myself, I'm with my teammates, we've got a whole new crew, all new excitement and I'm in a good place right now," he said.
The news of Tucker's release came on the same day that guard Rex Hadnot, who's recovering from a torn medial collateral ligament, returned to offensive drills on a limited basis. He took reps at both left and right guard but was held out of team drills.
Pool, Harrison back: Safety Brodney Pool and running back Jerome Harrison both returned to practice Monday after missing time with injuries.
Pool, who suffered a possible concussion in the Detroit game, participated in team drills. It was the first time he's been seen outside with the team since the Aug. 22 game. The Browns have not confirmed that he suffered a concussion, which would've been his fourth since 2005.
Harrison returned to action wearing a brace on his left knee and also participated in 11-on-11s, although players were in shorts and shells. Harrison has been mostly idle the past three weeks but played sparingly in the Green Bay game Aug. 15.
"It's been killing me not being out there," said Harrison. "It's always good to go through camp with your teammates, and seeing them out there working so hard has been really tough. But it's part of the game."
Harrison, who was slated for some playing time this season behind Jamal Lewis, said he's tried not to get down about the setback. In his absence, rookie James Davis has made a case for reps.
"You've got to accept things for what they are," Harrison said. "I've just been paying attention in the classroom. It's frustrating at times, but I've got good teammates and stuff like that."
Asked if he can pick up where he left off, he said, "I wish it was that easy."
He said his unspecified injury did not require surgery.
Can he still have a breakout year?
"We'll see," Harrison said.
Hood released: The Browns released seventh-year cornerback Rod Hood, signed as a free agent in May. Hood, who started 30 games over the past two seasons for Arizona, including last season's Super Bowl, struggled in the Titans game Saturday night, giving up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Justin Gage. Hood admitted he still was adjusting to the Browns' scheme.
The Browns also released tight end Nate Jackson, a seventh-year pro, and linebacker Robert McCune, a fourth-year pro. Both were signed as free agents. They re-signed offensive lineman Branndon Braxton, a Youngstown native and a rookie out of Oklahoma.
Mangini delivers: In the middle of praising Robaire Smith on Monday, Eric Mangini told the story of how he returned to the team hotel late one night during camp only to find a pizza deliveryman headed to Smith's room. Mangini decided to handle the chore himself and knocked on Smith's door.
"The frustrating part from my side was that he didn't tip me and he didn't offer me any," Mangini said with a smile. "The least he could do was one of the two. I appreciate pizza."
Smith said Mangini texted him 10 minutes later, telling him what a bad tipper he was and how rude he was not to share.
"But it wasn't just for me," Smith said with a laugh. "I couldn't just give away everybody's stuff. When I opened the door, I was shocked. I almost shut my door back. But it was a time in camp where I needed a little laugh, and he gave me that for a few days."
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