Cleveland Browns waive long snapper Ryan Pontbriand

By Tony Grossi, The Plain Dealer

BEREA, Ohio -- Long snapper Ryan Pontbriand, whose errant snaps cost the Browns legitimate chances at victory in two of their past three games, was waived on Tuesday.

He was replaced by Christian Yount, an undrafted rookie from UCLA who appeared in seven games with Tampa Bay. Young was waived on Oct. 25 when the Buccaneers' regular snapper was activated from an injury list. Also, the Browns ended the seasons of linebacker Scott Fujita (hand) and defensive end Emmanuel Stephens (pectoral) by placing them on injured reserve.

Pontbriand's low snap in Cincinnati on Sunday cost the Browns a fair shot at a go-ahead 55-yard field goal with 1:55 left. The botched snap caused Phil Dawson to miss, giving the Bengals the ball at their 45. The Bengals won, 23-20, on a short field goal seven plays later.

Two games earlier, Pontbriand's snap caromed off the foot of lineman Alex Mack and disrupted a 22-yard field goal try against St. Louis with 37 seconds remaining. The kick was partially deflected and the Rams won, 13-12. After that game, Pontbriand said he went home and made 150 long snaps to get the memory out of his mind.

Several other long snaps off the mark caused Pontbriand's swift demise. Some did not disrupt successful kicks, but they were uncharacteristic of Pontbriand and became points of concern internally.

Pontbriand admitted after the Cincinnati game that he was fighting a terrible slump. His precision and dependability had earned him two invitations to the Pro Bowl from AFC coaches. In eight years prior to this one, Pontbriand had only one bad snap that caused Dawson to miss a kick, an extra point.

In his ninth season, Pontbriand, 32, had the second-longest tenure on the Browns to Dawson. Drafted in the fifth round in 2003, he was the last remaining player from the four Browns drafts headed by former coach Butch Davis.

In other moves announced on Tuesday, the Browns:

• Promoted linebacker Benjamin Jacobs and defensive end Brian Sanford from their practice squad.

• Signed to their practice squad linebacker Brian Smith, defensive back David Sims and defensive lineman Ayanga Okpokowuruk. Smith was with the Browns in training camp and released at the final cut.

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