Cleveland Browns place Ethan Pocic on injured reserve, sign center Greg Mancz
Center Ethan Pocic's knee injury has led to the Browns making a pair of corresponding moves on Tuesday.
The Browns placed Pocic on injured reserve on Tuesday, meaning the knee injury he sustained against Buffalo will cost him at least four games. They also signed seven-year pro and former University of Toledo product Greg Mancz.
Pocic, who played every snap through the first nine games, left last Sunday's loss to the Bills on the second play of the game. Reserve lineman Hjalte Froholdt, who had never played a regular-season snap at center prior to Sunday, finished the game in place of the veteran.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday the injury was likely to keep Pocic out "weeks." The move to injured reserve means the earliest Pocic could be back is for the Browns' Christmas Eve home game against the New Orleans Saints.
The signing of Mancz potentially gives the Browns an experienced long-term solution to fill the vacancy. The former undrafted free agent out of Toledo has started 32 of his 64 career games in the NFL.
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Mancz started his career with the Houston Texans, starting 28 of 58 games between 2015-20. During that time, among the quarterbacks he was snapping the ball to was Deshaun Watson, who's scheduled to return from his 11-game suspension following Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.
The last two seasons, Mancz has spent with the Miami Dolphins (2021) and Bills (this season). He appeared in one game this season with Buffalo, while also spending time on the practice squad.
The Browns also made multiple moves on the practice squad Tuesday. They signed safety Bubba Bolden and offensive tackle Will Holden to the squad and released center Jordan Meredith from it as well.
Bolden is an undrafted rookie out of Miami (Fla.) who was initially signed by the Seahawks. With the Hurricanes from 2019-21, he had 127 tackles (10 for loss) two sacks, six pass deflections and five forced fumbles.
Holden has been around the league since being a 2017 fifth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals out of Vanderbilt. He's played in 27 games with nine starts between Arizona (2017-18), Baltimore (2020), Indianapolis (2020) and Detroit (2021), before spending part of this season on the New York Giants' practice squad.
Nick Chubb is Browns' nominee for NFL's Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award
The NFL announced Tuesday that Nick Chubb was one of 32 players nominated for the ninth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Each team in the league nominates one player for the award.
The award, named after the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers, recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field. It was created in 2014.
A panel of former players − Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald, Curtis Martin and Leonard Wheeler − will select eight finalists, four from each conference, from the list. The eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when players vote in December.
Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ethan Pocic placed on injured reserve, while Browns sign Greg Mancz
