The Cleveland Browns entered their first official practice of the 2026 regular season with perfect attendance, but that unfortunately changed rather quickly.
Per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, right guard Teven Jenkins exited during the portion of practice available to the media and wound up landing on the Browns’ injury report with a back injury.
Jenkins was officially listed as limited on Wednesday, but his chances of starting Sunday’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars just took a significant hit.
The buzz around third-round rookie Austin Barber has been impossible to ignore since the Browns’ final two preseason games. Barber, a career left tackle for the Florida Gators, started both games at right guard with Cleveland’s second unit and was mostly dominant in both pass protection and the run game.
Barber was listed as the Browns’ backup right tackle on their unofficial depth chart for Week 1, but he’s been knocking at the door at guard for weeks. He may now be set to step into a golden opportunity.
Teven Jenkins’ back injury could settle the final piece of the Browns’ offensive line puzzle
Head coach Todd Monken met with the media prior to Wednesday’s practice and once again refused to rule out elevating Barber to the first unit.
“We’re going to let it play out,” Monken said. “We anticipate Teven being our starting right guard, but again, we’d like to see it play out the rest of the week. … Between your 53 and your practice squad, everybody’s got to be ready to play, because when you go out and practice, you don’t know.”
If Barber ended up getting the lion’s share of reps at right guard during Wednesday's practice, it’s hard not to view him as the frontrunner to start Sunday’s game against the Jaguars.
He looked NFL-ready during the preseason, but that was against second- and third-string players from the Bills and Patriots. The good news is that he would be protected by having seasoned veterans Elgton Jenkins at center and Tytus Howard at right tackle if he's called upon to be the next man up.
The Browns are expected to start rookie Spencer Fano at left tackle with veteran Zion Johnson at left guard.
Cleveland may have been flirting with starting Barber all along. Unlike his other four starters along the O-line, Monken has notably refused to fully commit to Teven Jenkins.
Potentially losing a lineman four days before a game is less than ideal, but the Browns improved their depth significantly this offseason both during free agency and the draft.
Browns fans may get a chance to see another piece of their loaded 2026 rookie class on Sunday afternoon.
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