J.C. Tretter is thrilled to join the Browns in good health and focused solely on center because he has been injured and juggling multiple positions for most of his career.
Tretter was plagued by injuries in three of his four seasons with the Green Bay Packers but played well enough when healthy to make the Browns believe he can solve their dire need for a dependable starting center. On Thursday, he received a three-year, $16.75 million contract, including $10 million guaranteed, as an unrestricted free agent.
“I have had my fair share of bumps in the road,” Tretter said Friday during his introductory conference call. “The first year, I broke my leg in a fluke fumble recovery drill on the first day of OTAs. The next two times, I was hurt where guys ran into the side of my knee. The way I look at it is both of those times it could have been a heck of a lot worse.
“I have taken kind of some hard blows and been able to bounce back. I am 100 percent healthy now and feel really good. I am not too worried about kind of fluke things. It is the game of football. It is a physical game, and sometimes guys fall into your knees. I am not too worried about that being a reoccurring issue.”
After the Packers drafted Tretter in the fourth round (122nd overall) out of Cornell in 2013, he suffered a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in an ankle during a spring practice. He surfaced on the active roster late in the season but didn’t play.
Then he was on track to become the starting center in 2014 but suffered a fractured left knee in the third preseason game and missed half of the season.
He played all 16 regular-season games in 2015 with three starts at center in place of an injured Corey Linsley. He also started one playoff game at left tackle in place of an injured David Bakhtiari.
Tretter, 26, started the first seven games at center last season before suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament. The injury ended his season and required knee surgery in January.
The bad breaks must be maddening.
“It is tough when you are not able to play and when injuries take you out of it,” Tretter said. “[The key to avoiding frustration is] staying in the moment and focusing on your rehab and just focusing on getting back. I think you can’t look too far into the future when things go poorly. I think that will drive you crazy.”
Tretter, 6-foot-3 and 307 pounds, has started 10 of the 31 regular-season games in which he has appeared. He has played center, left guard, right tackle and left tackle.
Versatility can be a blessing and a curse for an offensive lineman. It can increase his value but also prevent him from mastering his best position.
“I bounced around a bit position to position in Green Bay during my four years, but I think center has always been my best position and the position that I had the most potential,” Tretter said. “I am excited to have that opportunity to every day at practice take the reps and dial in at the little fundamentals and technique that make a great center.”
The Browns will be excited, too, if Tretter can solve their problem at center. Cameron Erving, a 2015 first-round pick, struggled in the role last season, leading the coaches to move him to right tackle for the finale.
“I enjoy having the responsibility of making all of the [protection] calls and getting everybody on the same page,” Tretter said. “The center’s job has to be synced up with the quarterback and making sure that you have the same thought process and can dissect the defense the same way he can.
“[Center] fits my skills. I like getting out [past the defensive line] and moving. I think at the center position, having an athletic center who can get out in open space and get to the second level [of the defense to block linebackers] truly helps a team succeed.”
ProFootballFocus.com ranked Tretter the ninth best center in the NFL last season.
The Browns still need an answer at right tackle, but on paper, they could have a stellar offensive line with 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas, left guard Joel Bitonio, newly signed right guard Kevin Zeitler and Tretter aboard. Health, of course, will likely be the deciding factor.
“You have the potential to be a truly great line and really mesh together and build something special,” Tretter said. “That opportunity to come in and play center and play with the guys that I’ll be around ... is an opportunity that you can’t really pass up.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.