WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Deshaun Watson will have two new Browns centers in front of him working to bring the best out in each other this offseason.
The Browns agreed to terms on a one-year deal Tuesday with former Seahawks starting center Ethan Pocic, their second-round pick in 2017 out of LSU.
After recovering from sprained knee last season, he reclaimed his starting job and played some of the best ball of his career over the final 10 games.
Pocic, 26, will come in as a likely backup to 2020 fifth-round pick Nick Harris, whom Kevin Stefanski said here on Monday he was eager to watch operate. One of the two will replace longtime veteran and ironman JC Tretter, who was let go in a move that saved the Browns more than $8 million on the salary cap.
“I’m very excited about Nick,’’ Stefanski said at the NFL Annual coaches breakfast here Monday. “He’s gotten in there and done a really nice job. He played mostly guard for us a couple years ago. Got in there in that Green Bay game, I think you saw his skill set. Very intelligent player. Plays very hard, athletic player, so excited about him.’’
He acknowledged that the Browns might bring in someone to press him.
“But we don’t play a game for a couple months,’’ he said.
Harris will have big shoes to fill in Tretter, who started all 80 games for the Browns over the past give years. Pocic (6-6, 320) has started 40 of 57 games for the Seahawks, including 10 last season and 14 the year before.
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