Running back Montario Hardesty reportedly was going to miss two to three games after having his knee scoped. The prognosis proved to be worse than expected.
The Cleveland Browns placed Hardesty on injured reserve, ending his season. With Dion Lewis going on IR on Monday, the top two backups to Trent Richardson are done for the season. Brandon Jackson and Miguel Maysonet are now listed as the reserve running backs on the team's depth chart.
Injuries have derailed Hardesty's career. He has injured the ACL in both of his knees, torn a calf muscle and dealt with a pulled hamstring. In 2010, the Browns traded two fifth-round picks to move up to select Hardesty in the second round.
To get down to the league limit of 75 players, the Browns waived seven players, including two recent draft picks: fullback Owen Marecic (2011 fourth-round) and offensive lineman Ryan Miller (2012 fifth round). Marecic had been replaced by Chris Ogbonnaya as the starting fullback.
Others waived were: linebacker Kendrick Adams, offensive lineman Dominic Alford, wide receiver Dominique Croom, defensive lineman Nicolas Jean-Baptiste and tight end Travis Tannahill. The Browns also placed offensive lineman Chris Faulk on the reserve-Non-Football Injury list.
Cleveland was awarded two players on waivers: outside linebacker Paul Hazel (Jacksonville) and punter Colton Schmidt (San Francisco).
