Browns sign former starter to roster after Dawand Jones goes on IR

In response to Dawand Jones going on the IR for the rest of the season with a broken leg, the Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed Geron Christian to their active roster off of the Los Angeles Rams' practice squad.

Christian, a 28 year old tackle and seven season veteran, was a tackle with the Browns in 2023. He started nine games for Cleveland that season, so he's familiar with the offensive linemen on the team currently and the team's coaching staff. This is a great pickup for the Browns as they revealed in their injury report ahead of Week 12's Thursday night game that their offensive line is severely thinned.

Read more: First Browns injury report ahead of Week 12 against Steelers reveals OL stress

With Jones out, the team just has Jedrick Wills Jr. and German Ifedi on their depth chart at tackle. And, Wills has yet to say whether he is back to 100 percent and ready to play again after benching himself in Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens with a knee injury. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has also yet to confirm or deny if Wills is ready to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but based on the fact that he did not practice on the Monday prior to Thursday night, it feels same to assume he'll be out once again.

That leaves Ifedi and, potentially, Christian, as the only two healthy left tackles available against the Steelers. Jack Conklin is healthy, but he's pretty strictly a right tackle. So, for another time this season, it seems like Cleveland will be trotting out a really shaky offensive line to protect Jameis Winston and Nick Chubb on offense.

Defense will have to win game vs. Steelers

It's hard to imagine that the Steelers' defense will let up on the Browns as they block their chance of gaining major separation in first place in the AFC North. Cleveland's been fine against teams with poor defenses like the Ravens and New Orleans Saints, but have struggled mightily against teams like the Los Angeles Chargers who have elite defensive units in the secondary and on their defensive line.

The Steelers have two linebackers that the Browns need to worry about all game long - TJ Watt and Patrick Queen. In addition to that, the O-line will likely struggle to protect Winston from the pass rush, and that might lead to some turnovers from Winston who is prone to quick and bad decision making under that type of pressure.

The Browns' defense will have to find ways to get turnovers against the Steelers' offense in Week 12 if they have any shot at actually winning. Pittsburgh's offensive line is shot as well, so Myles Garrett has a chance to redeem himself after a very bad game against rookie tackle Taliese Fuaga in Week 11. Denzel Ward is also coming off an excellent game in the secondary in Week 11 where he had two takeaways and multiple deflected passes. If he can get Russell Wilson shaky, the Browns can make this contest competitive.

More Browns news and analysis