The Cleveland Browns announced Friday that they’ve placed G Joel Bitonio on injured reserve with a mid-foot sprain.
Reports from earlier in the week mentioned that Bitonio was likely to miss an extended period of time with this injury, so it’s not all that surprising to see the Browns put him on injured reserve and free up a roster spot.
With Bitonio out, the Browns are likely to turn to John Greco and Alvin Bailey as their starting guard with Cam Erving playing center. If Erving is unable to play, Cleveland would have to consider Spencer Drango or Jonathan Cooper.
Bitonio, 25, is a former second-round pick of the Browns back in 2014. He’s currently in the third year of his four-year, $5.461 million contract and set to make a base salary of $916,518 for the 2016 season.
In 2016, Bitonio has appeared in five games for the Browns and is rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 9 guard out of 72 qualifying players.
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