Cleveland ? Center LeCharles Bentley, whose first season with Cleveland ended with a freakish knee injury last summer that became infected and threatened his life and NFL career, plans to play for the Browns this season.

The club’s marquee free-agent signing in 2006, Bentley said Sunday that he’d report to training camp in a few weeks and that his goal was to be ready for the season opener Sept. 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It’s unbelievable how far I’ve come in the last few months,” Bentley said from Arizona, where he has been rehabbing and working out for the past few months. “I feel so blessed to even be in a position to think about playing again.”