Cleveland Browns offensive guard Eric Steinbach has had a multitude of bad injuries throughout his NFL career, but this one really hurts. The team is expected to place Steinbach on season ending injured reserve after the lineman had back surgery to fix a disk injury, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
This is a huge hit to the Browns’ biggest area of strength. Steinbach is expected to be immediately replaced by sixth round pick Jason Pinkston of Pittsburgh, and the team signed Oniel Cousins as some depth insurance off of waivers from rival Baltimore.
Steinbach has started for the Browns for four years, and has missed the past two pre-season games.