Browns place Scott Fujita on injured reserve with neck injury

• Fujita still facing one-game suspension for alleged bounty role
• He was a fifth-round pick of Chiefs in 2002
• Fujita played for Saints from 2006 to 2009

Scott Fujita's season is over, and his career may be done, too.

The Cleveland Browns linebacker, who has been one of the central figures of the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a neck injury that may force him to retire.

Fujita, an 11-year veteran, has been limited to four games this season, though he's been eligible to play in all of them amid his ongoing battle with the NFL to eliminate his bounty-borne suspension. His original three-game penalty was eventually reduced to one, though he's continued with his appeal and sharp criticism of Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Fujita was a fifth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2002. He joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 before embarking on his most notable run, a four-year hitch with the Saints that brought him a Super Bowl ring after the 2009 season that has now received so much scrutiny for the alleged hits-for-cash program the NFL says was run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Along with Sean Payton, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush, Fujita was one of the core Saints to come to New Orleans in 2006 on the heels of Hurricane Katrina. He quickly embraced the city and became a local activist while supporting environmental causes in Louisiana.

With Fujita now out for the year and Anthony Hargrove still unsigned, the appeals process will likely be more narrowly focused on Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith, the only players facing suspensions who are still members of the Saints.