Browns coach Romeo Crennel said offensive lineman Ryan Tucker is resting at home after undergoing surgery Friday to repair a fractured hip.

But resting is not really the operative word.

''Probably the biggest deal will be his comfort,'' Crennel said Monday night at the 28th annual Akron Browns Backers Banquet at Tangier restaurant. ''They say that sitting down is not a good position for that recovery. We're going to have to see how we can keep that hip straight, but he can still get some things done.''

The 11-year veteran started the final eight games at right guard in 2007 after an injury to Seth McKinney.

Tucker had been a mainstay at right tackle since joining Cleveland in 2002.

''You're always concerned when you lose a starter,'' Crennel said. ''They put some pins in [the hip]. We expect him to come back this year and help us. He'll do everything he can to get back.''

Asked when he expected Tucker to return, Crennel said, ''Sometime after the start of training camp.''

Tucker limped off the field Wednesday during the second day of organized team activities.

''He just took a bad step and somebody fell into him just as he planted,'' Crennel said. ''It was one of those freak things.''

McKinney and Rex Hadnot, signed in free agency after four years in Miami, will battle for the right guard spot while Tucker is sidelined.

''McKinney's had experience with us. Hadnot had experience in Miami,'' Crennel said. ''We'll play the best guy.''

Among the night's honorees were quarterback Derek Anderson and kicker Phil Dawson, named Player of the Year and Good Guy, respectively, by the Cleveland chapter of the Pro Football Writers.

Perhaps Dawson's best compliment came from former kicker Don Cockroft, the 2007 Legends choice for the 1970s.

''Those were two of the greatest kicks ever made in Cleveland Stadium against Buffalo,'' Cockroft said of Dawson's two field goals in an 8-0 victory played in a blizzard, including a 49-yarder that hit the curved
support bar.

Dawson hit the same bar at Baltimore on a 51-yard double-bouncer originally ruled no good.

Asked which required more skill, Dawson said: ''Physical skill, the Buffalo kick, because I was aiming at a target about the size of a stop sign. That was an educated guess. But emotionally, the Baltimore kick because that was coming off Pittsburgh week and here I was seven days later right in the same boat.

''To have it come up short one week and have almost the identical situation the very next week and have the referee say no good, that was pretty rough. But it all worked out. That's why you don't ever give up.''