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Cleveland Browns running back Montario Hardesty runs through a special teams drill during minicamp in June.

(Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio -- Browns running back Montario Hardesty's roster spot is in jeopardy, but if he can get healthy, he'll still have a decent chance to make the team, sources close to the situation have told Cleveland.com.

Unfortunately for Hardesty, he's missed most of training camp with an inflamed hamstring tendon, and time is running short.

"It presents a great challenge for us,'' said running backs coach John Settle. "He's a young man that has shown flashes of what he can be -- what he was last year what we would hope he'd be in 2013. But not having him, it does hurt his advancement and it hurts us as a team.''

Settle acknowledged that it'll be a little tougher now for Hardesty given all the competition at the position.

"But is it impossible? No,'' said Settle. "That decision is way above my head, but he's a young man that enjoys playing the game and wants to be out there. For us to be the best we can be, we need to have him out there. We have confidence in the fact that he knows what he's doing and we can trust him. (But) it makes it a little tough to evaluate him with the other guys that are out there and continuing to improve.''

When the new coaches studied Hardesty's 2012 film, they were excited. Finally healthy, Hardesty hit the holes fast and averaged a decent 4.2 yards per carry in his limited chances, rushing 65 times for 271 yards.

"You saw his productivity. He was back to his old ways,'' said Settle. "His acceleration was there, he was fast. You hoped he was past his injuries. We had high hopes coming into camp, then he has a setback. We want him back out there as soon as possible, but we've got to be smart about it.''

Settle said Hardesty was originally slated for the backup role behind Trent Richardson until newcomer Dion Lewis began to impress. The Browns acquired Lewis (5-8, 195) in a trade with the Eagles for linebacker Emmanuel Acho.

"All of a sudden we saw that Dion was hard to tackle and had an opportunity to make big plays for us when we got him out in space. But I think all of those three guys -- Trent, Montario and Dion -- will complement each other in various ways and will really stretch defenses and force them to defend the whole field. When the lights come on and its real, we'll see what we get. Unfortunately for Montario, he won't be able to play this week.''

Hardesty is hoping that he did enough in organized team activities and minicamp.

"Not being able to be out there and play, you wonder, do they remember this or remember that?'' he said.

Hardesty acknowledged that it's hard to sit and watch.

"We have guys that can play, we all know that,'' Hardesty said. "I want to be out there, so it's just frustrating for me. I know what I can do when I'm out there, I just need to get on the field. This is what I do for a living, and I want to be out there doing it.''

He's been impressed with all of the backs in camp, including Chris Ogbonnaya, who's playing both fullback and tailback.

"Obie is showing he can do multiple things and Dion is a hard guy to tackle in the open field and can catch the ball,'' said Hardesty. "(Jackson) has come on strong in the last week. It's a good competition. But there's no doubt I can make this team if I can show them what I can do. I feel like once I get back out there, everything will sort itself out.''

Hardesty's promising 2012 came after missing his entire rookie year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and almost half of 2011 with a torn calf muscle.

"I think last year, people were just starting to see what I could really do,'' he said. "I was just starting to scratch the surface and be the player they drafted. I want to continue to build on that. I know I'm as good as any running back in the league when I'm healthy.''

Hardesty tested the hamstring one day last week, but it flared up.

"I wasn't ready to go yet,'' he said.

"This is the NFL and you want to have a roster full of good players,'' he said. "I played with great running backs in college, including Arian Foster. I proved I'm right up there with him.''

Settle said the best backs will make the team, and that it will play out over the next four weeks.

"If everybody gets healthy and stays healthy from here on out, we could have some very tough decisions to make,'' he said.