Donald Stephenson retires before taking a snap with Browns

Offensive tackle Donald Stephenson has retired from the NFL before ever taking a snap for the Cleveland Browns.

The team announced on Friday that Stephenson, 29, was placed on its Retired/Reserve list.

Stephenson played in 80 games, including 37 starts, after being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 74th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Stephenson was brought in to Cleveland to compete and add depth at the tackle position due to a dearth at the position following Joe Thomas’ retirement. But things never really got on track for the lineman with the Browns.

After skipping the team’s mandatory summer minicamp, for which he was fined $84,435, Stephenson was suspended by the NFL for two games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Stephenson will not receive the $1 million in guaranteed money he was set to earn with the one-year, $2.5 million deal that he inked with Cleveland in March.