Broncos defensive end Courtney Brown, whose career has been plagued by injuries, will miss the rest of the season and undergo another operation on his troublesome left knee.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft by Cleveland, Brown had knee surgery in August and hoped to return for the season opener. But he's been inactive for Denver's first four games and on Wednesday was placed on injured reserve.
He was replaced on the roster by former Green Bay defensive lineman Kenny Peterson, who practised Wednesday.
Brown is one of the five former Cleveland Browns defensive linemen who play in Denver who are known as the ``Browncos,'' along with Kenard Lang, Gerard Warren, Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers.
They all learned Wednesday that their position leader _ who hasn't played since the AFC title game in January _ was done for the year.
``What more can you really say but 'We've got your back and we're praying for you and hope you well for the surgery,''' Lang said.
Brown also had surgery on his right knee in 2001 and on his left knee in '02 and '04.
He missed 33 games in his final four seasons in Cleveland. He signed with Denver as a free agent in 2005, but dislocated his left elbow during training camp with the Broncos last summer and sat out the regular-season opener against Miami. He finished with 38 tackles and two sacks in 14 games.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
