Four-year veteran Daven Holly, who was competing for the starting job, recently suffered a severe knee injury during organized team activities. The timeline for his recovery is unknown, but the team says it is possible Holly could miss most or all of the 2008 season.
Holly
Holly was injured while competing for a jump ball Tuesday with receiver Braylon Edwards, who also suffered a hip pointer on the play and is listed as day-to-day.
Holly took the brunt of the play, landing awkwardly on his left knee.
Holly suffered cartilage and ligament damage in the left knee, and general manager Phil Savage said the surgery will most likely be Friday.
"Obviously it doesn't look good for him," Savage said of Holly. "It takes a couple hours to kind of get your head around the fact that we're probably going to be looking for another corner, if we weren't already doing so."
Edwards suffered a hip pointer on the play, didn't practice Wednesday and is listed as day-to-day.
Cornerback is Cleveland's most pressing need this offseason. Just last week, the team released veteran cornerback Kenny Wright because of an off-field incident, and in March the team traded last year's starter, Leigh Bodden, to the Detroit Lions.
Holly was expected to compete with second-year player Brandon McDonald, who now is penciled in as the starter opposite Eric Wright. The Browns also will look into signing a free agent at the position or explore possible trades.
"This was a position that if you look at our roster and our depth chart, it was kind of a soft spot," Savage said. "You hate to have an injury of any kind, but this one is particularly hurtful because of the situation we're in already."
There is one big-name free agent still on the market in Ty Law. There has been some internal discussion about Law because he has ties to Browns coach Romeo Crennel. But the team hinted yesterday that Law is probably out of the team's price range.
"We'll see who might be available, keeping working with the guys we have on this team and come up with our best option," coach Romeo Crennel said.
This year Cleveland already was one of the most aggressive teams in free agency, paying $115 million in contracts for new acquisitions Donte' Stallworth and defensive linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams.
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