Cleveland Browns LB Scott Fujita Reportedly Has Career-Threatening Neck Injury

Scott Fujita missed the Cleveland Browns' game against the Cincinnati Bengals a few weeks ago with a shoulder/neck injury, and he won't be returning this season.

UPDATE: Wednesday, October 24 at 11:58 a.m. ET

The Cleveland Browns have placed Scott Fujita on injured reserve, according to ClevelandBrowns.com's Vic Carucci. 

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Pat Shurmur said #Browns placed LB Scott Fujita on the IR & DT Phil Taylor returns to practice, but "very little" chance of playing Sun.

— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) October 24, 2012"

---END OF UPDATE---

According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the Browns fear major long-term consequences for their linebacker:

"

Browns LB Scott Fujita has neck injury team & player fear is career ender, per sources. 11 yrs in NFL. Busy NFL Monday Countdown #NFLreality

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) October 15, 2012"

Any injury that's thrown into that category must be handled with the utmost concern. We've already seen too many instances where severe head and neck injuries impact the rest of an athlete's life, leaving situations like this to be approached with caution.

An 11-year vet, Fujita had 14 tackles so far this season. He's never been a dynamic athlete, instead providing leadership and sound tackling from his linebacker position.

Through the course of his career, Fujita has accumulated nearly 800 tackles and 23.5 sacks. He's played for four teams, spending his last three seasons with the Browns organization. The best season of his career came in 2003 as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, when he recorded 111 tackles.

Fujita has found himself in the news lately as one of the Saints' "Bountygate" players, where, according to Mortensen, "Fujita spent last week blasting Goodell after receiving a reduction in his original bounty-related suspension."

It's hard to tell if Fujita's career is actually over, but it seems safe to say that he is going to miss a chunk of time. The Browns, in giving that information, make it obvious that they are not taking this injury lightly.

Keep an eye out for updates, and wish Fujita the best.