The Browns are heading into Thursday night’s AFC North meeting with the Steelers carrying a little more uncertainty up front, and it starts at center.
Elgton Jenkins was not seen by reporters on Tuesday after being listed on the team’s initial Week 4 practice report with a concussion, which puts Luke Wypler in position to make his first start of the season. That opens up another question on the interior: who lines up to Wypler’s right?
For now, that job belongs to rookie Austin Barber. He has started at right guard in Cleveland’s first three games and has handled the role well enough to stay in the picture. Barber has been flagged twice, a problem that has shown up across the offense, but the Browns have seen enough to give him an extended run.
That’s especially notable because Teven Jenkins, the veteran who was expected to open the season as the starter at right guard, was back on the practice field Tuesday for the first time since the team began preparing for Week 1. Jenkins has been out with a back injury that cost him the first three games, and head coach Todd Monken said earlier this month that he believes Barber can keep the job even when Jenkins is healthy again.
How quickly Jenkins is actually closing in on game action remains unclear. After Monday’s walkthrough, he was listed as a nonparticipant on the team’s estimated report.
Barber should still be the guy against Pittsburgh on Thursday night, but Jenkins’ return changes the temperature around that spot. The Browns have continued to list Jenkins as their starter at right guard on the unofficial depth chart each week, a sign that this competition has been unsettled since the offseason program.
Barber opened his first two starts without allowing a pressure in pass protection, but Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers was a tougher outing. He was hit with a costly false start on a third-and-1 at the Panthers 36, part of a 13-play drive that ended in a punt.
Deshaun Watson spent much of that game under fire, pressured on 54% of his dropbacks, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. Barber was charged by Pro Football Focus with three pressures, two hurries, one QB hit, and an overall grade of 42.7.
It’s also worth remembering what kind of transition this is for the rookie. Barber played left tackle for the Florida Gators, and he still projects as the Browns’ long-term answer at right tackle.
Now he gets a Steelers front loaded with veterans, and with Teven Jenkins back in the mix, Barber is facing the sharpest test of his young NFL career.
In Other News...
Pat Freiermuth Just Reopened An Ugly Browns Fan Reputation
Pat Freiermuth brought an old scar back into view this week when he revisited a rookie-season memory that stuck with him far beyond the final whistle. Ahead of the Steelers upcoming game against the Browns, the tight end described the scene around his game-winning touchdown in Cleveland, a moment that should have been about the play itself but instead turned into something far uglier in the stands.
Freiermuth said his mother was the one caught in the middle of it, and the memory has been enough to change her routine when the Steelers head to Cleveland. Even so, he made clear there are no lingering hard feelings, just a reminder of how quickly a night in the AFC North can turn personal and why certain road games still carry an edge no scoreboard can erase. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Keep Winning But One Problem Is Starting To Look Dangerous
The Browns have done enough through three games to sit at 2-1, but the way they have gotten there has left a growing concern hanging over an otherwise encouraging start. Cleveland has been flagged 34 times already, the second-highest total in the NFL, and the issue has become hard to ignore even as head coach Todd Monken and his staff continue to stress the need to clean it up.
The bigger worry is that the problem has not settled down, even with key players drawing repeated flags, including right tackle Tytus Howard. The Browns have been able to survive it by winning tight games and leaning on late scoring drives from Deshaun Watson, but the margin for error shrinks quickly when a team keeps putting itself behind the chains and giving away yards it cannot afford to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Rookie Is Pushing Veterans In A Troubling Position Battle
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren arrived in Cleveland as a second-round pick with the usual rookie expectations, but his first three weeks have started to look more like a challenge to the veterans in front of him than a slow apprenticeship. His defensive snaps have been limited so far, yet when he has been on the field, he has made the most of it and drawn strong grades from PFF relative to other Browns defenders.
That kind of early efficiency can change a depth chart quickly, especially for a team trying to sort out its safety mix and steady itself against the run. Cleveland has reason to consider expanding McNeil-Warrens role if the current personnel at the position keeps leaving openings, and the next stretch could show whether the rookie is merely earning more trust or forcing a tougher conversation about who should be playing more. [Read more 🡒]