Cleveland Browns starting linebacker Scott Fujita has been placed on injured reserve, his season ended by a broken hand.
The team put Fujita on injured reserve Tuesday, two days after he broke his right hand in two places during the second half of a loss at Cincinnati. Fujita will undergo surgery later this week. He started 10 games for Cleveland this season, missing one with a concussion.
"It's a big loss for us," said linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. "It's a great confidence having him out there, a 10-, 11-year vet. But other guys have to step up."
The Browns also placed defensive end Emmanuel Stephens on injured reserve with an injured chest muscle. Stephens got hurt on Sunday against the Bengals in his third straight start since replacing Jayme Mitchell at right end.
Also, the Browns signed free-agent long snapper Christian Yount to replace slumping Ryan Pontbriand.
The Browns waived their once dependable long snapper on Tuesday, two days after Pontbriand's second poor snap in three weeks cost Cleveland a possible win. The two-time Pro Bowler had been with the Browns since 2003 and had the second-longest tenure on the club to kicker Phil Dawson.
On Sunday in Cincinnati, Pontbriand rolled a snap that caused Dawson to miss a potential go-ahead 55-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Bengals. Two weeks ago, against St. Louis, Pontbriand's snap bounced off the right leg of teammate Alex Mack, disrupted Dawson's timing on a 22-yarder that was partially blocked and gave the Rams a 13-12 win.
Linebacker Benjamin Jacobs and defensive lineman Brian Sanford have been signed to the active roster from the practice squad.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
