According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Cleveland Browns could be without guard Eric Steinbach and running back Brandon Jackson this season after the two suffered injuries in the team’s loss to Philadelphia Thursday night.
Browns head coach Pat Shurmur stated that Jackson would miss an “extended period” while the prognosis on Steinbach was a bit more unclear:
“At this point, he’s going through some treatments that we’re hoping will get him back, and there’s no real final call yet on whether he’ll be back — or when actually,’’ said Shurmur.
If Steinbach is unable to play, it will undoubtedly be a big loss for the Browns, but they feel like rookie offensive lineman Jason Pinkston has been making great progress this offseason, and could be slated to start in his place.
The Browns had some other bad news on the injury front as linebacker Titus Brown, receiver Jordan Norwood, and cornerback Dimitri Patterson suffered injuries in the game.
Obviously the team is going to wait it out with Steinbach, because he is a pretty key part of the team’s offense and a veteran player whom they have given a lot of money over the years.
With Jackson, an extended leave could mean another very broad role for Peyton Hillis, who wore down in a similar role last year.