Written by Daniel Wilson | 05 August 2011

This article was provided by Nich Shook of the Browns Beat

"On the Beat" is a periodical collection of newsworthy Browns tidbits.

-One of the most pleasant memories of the Browns' 2010 season came courtesy of some timely gamesmanship and the running abilities of punter Reggie Hodges. Against New Orleans, Cleveland ran a fake punt of 4th and long, and Hodges sprinted 67 yards before being taken down at the Saints' 10-yard line. The fake punt set up another score en route to the Browns' stunning 30-17 upset over the defending Super Bowl-champion Saints. Hodges immediately fell into favor of Browns fans everywhere, which makes Tuesday's occurence that much more disappointing.

Hodges is likely out for the season after rupturing his achilles during Tuesday's practice.

During a special teams drill, long snapper Ryan Pontbriand sent a high snap back to Hodges, forcing him to jump to catch the ball. Upon lift-off, Hodges caught the ball and then immediately crumpled to the ground. Trainers and teammates huddled around Hodges, and he was promptly taken off the field on a cart. After learning the news that Hodges ruptured his achilles tendon, head coach Pat Shurmur said it is likely that Hodges is done for the season, making the search for a reliable punter crucial for the Browns in 2011. Why? Because according to historic trends, the Browns punt quite often, and after I witnessed rookie receiver Greg Little drop three short, easy passes on Tuesday morning, they may be punting a lot this season.

-The trade that had many Browns fans as excited as I was was officially declared null and void on Monday, thanks to one player's decision to never show up to his new place of work. Brodrick Bunkley, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, and pending a physical that never happened, also formerly of the Cleveland Browns, was instead traded to the Denver Broncos on Monday. Bunkley refused to report to Berea after learning that he had been traded to the Browns last Friday, thus making the transaction between Philadelphia and Cleveland void. The Eagles returned the Browns 2012 5th round pick and then dealt Bunkley to Denver for a 2013 conditional pick. It seems like they really wanted to get him out the door, especially after signing defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins. Eagles officials said the issue with Bunkley wasn't that he was the type of guy to dictate where he would go, but was shocked that he had been traded. In my opinion, that still doesn't make it OK for Bunkley to refuse to report to camp. It will be interesting to see where the Browns will go from here in order to address their dire need of depth on the defensive line.

Taylor is officially a Brown after signing his rookie contract on Tuesday.

-After nearly a week of failed contractual negotiations between the Browns front office and defensive tackle Phil Taylor's agent, the two sides finally came to an agreement on terms of a contact. Taylor tweeted yesterday that he was on his way to Berea to sign his deal and he later joined his teammates in meetings. According to multiple accounts of those that saw Taylor enter the building, he looks to be in pretty good shape. He will almost certainly be inserted into one of the two starting defensive tackle spots on the defensive line, likely alongside Ahtyba Rubin. Browns training camp should start to get really appealing come Friday, the second day of practice in which all signed players can participate, including free agent signings Usama Young and Brandon Jackson, and re-signees Marcus Benard and Jayme Mitchell.

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