Browns' Elgton Jenkins Concussed, Iffy Vs Steelers Thursday

The Browns beat the Panthers on Sunday and got hit with the bill on Monday. The team only had a walk-through, so the practice report was an estimate. Jenkins was still on it as a DNP with a concussion. It's a bad week for that. Cleveland has 3 days to get ready for Pittsburgh, and the concussion protocol has steps that don't go any faster because the NFL scheduled a Thursday game.

Mary Kay Cabot

@MaryKayCabot

#Browns C Elgton Jenkins is listed on the estimated injury report today as DNP with a concussion. Browns had a walk-through only.

The strange part is that nobody seems to know when it happened. According to Yahoo Sports, Jenkins played the whole game against Carolina, so there was no obvious moment where he got helped off the field. The concussion just showed up on the report the next day. Getting a center through the protocol by Thursday night is a lot to ask, and the beat reporting says so.

Mary Kay Cabot

@MaryKayCabot

Jenkins is in the concussion protocol and iffy for the #Steelers game in the short week.

If Jenkins can't go, Yahoo reports the job goes to either Luke Wypler, who has been the backup center through the first 3 games, or rookie Parker Brailsford, a fifth-round pick out of Alabama who has been inactive early in the season with a thumb injury. Neither is a fun option against a Steelers front on national TV. The center makes the calls and handles every snap, and swapping him out on a walk-through week is the kind of thing that turns into bad snaps and free rushers.

The line was already a problem before Jenkins came up in the protocol. Right tackle Tytus Howard had 3 false starts against Carolina, 2 of them on the same first-half drive, and that was at home where crowd noise wasn't an excuse. Todd Monken didn't soften it: "If you're trying to anticipate the snap count, and you jump offsides or you false start once, okay, alright, I get it. After that, it's over. It's not okay." Monken called the team's penalty problem embarrassing, and now he could be missing his starting center going into a road-rivalry-level atmosphere, even if the game is in Cleveland.

Mary Kay Cabot

@MaryKayCabot

#Browns starting center Elgton Jenkins in the concussion protocol and might have to miss the #Steelers game Thurs night; Tytus Howard's 3 false starts 'not okay': Takeaways --> t.co/GLBIEZAjp7

There was at least some good injury news. Monken said cornerback Tyson Campbell was close to playing against the Panthers, and he feels good about Campbell for Thursday night. Getting a starting corner back helps a lot in a division game where the Steelers will test the secondary.

Mary Kay Cabot

@MaryKayCabot

#Browns coach Todd Monken said CB Tyson Campbell was close to playing vs #Panthers and he feels good about him for the #Steelers Thurs night

Keep an eye on the Tuesday and Wednesday reports. If Jenkins moves up to limited, he's working through the protocol and has a chance. If he's still DNP on Wednesday, plan for Wypler or Brailsford at center, a right tackle who has to clean up his false starts, and an offensive line held together with tape against Pittsburgh on a short week.