It's the kind of update that can completely flip a player's offseason. Pocic started all 13 games he played for the Browns last season before going down in Week 14 against the then one-win Titans, an injury that turned out to be a torn Achilles and ended his year on IR. Achilles tears are brutal for offensive linemen specifically, since the position lives and dies on lower-body strength and lateral quickness, and a 9-month recovery window is the grim standard for this kind of tear.
Adam Schefter reported Pocic has been cleared by Dr. Norman Waldrop and is considered "full go" for camp.
Getting Dr. Norman Waldrop's blessing matters here. Waldrop is one of the go-to surgeons for NFL players rehabbing serious lower-leg injuries, and having him sign off on a full-go clearance is about as strong a green light as a player in Pocic's spot can get this time of year.
The timing lines up brutally with his free agency. Pocic hit the open market this offseason after his run in Cleveland, where he'd been a steady, if unspectacular, presence up front since re-signing on a 3-year deal back in 2023. An Achilles tear right before hitting free agency is close to a worst-case scenario for a lineman trying to cash in, since teams tend to get cautious about betting money on a recovery that's still unfolding.
That's exactly why this update matters more than it might look on its face. A center who can credibly tell teams he's fully cleared and moving like himself again is a very different free-agent asset than one still rehabbing on a treadmill. If Pocic looks the part in camp workouts, it could turn a show-me, prove-it market into real leverage.
Whether that market includes a return to Cleveland or a fresh start elsewhere is still up in the air. Either way, the next few weeks of camp reps will tell teams everything they need to know about whether the guy who was starting every week before the injury is still that guy now.