The Cleveland Browns intended to start Teven Jenkins at right guard against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, but it appears he will no longer have a line on that position when the team completes its two-game swing through Florida against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
During his press conference on Wednesday, September 16, Browns head coach Todd Monken all but confirmed that Jenkins is now a reserve moving forward.
“#Browns Todd Monken said he ‘sees it that way’ that rookie Austin Barber will start at right guard even when Teven Jenkins is healthy,” Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported via X.
Jenkins started only four games for the Browns in 2025, though he played in all 17 regular season contests, after coming over from the Chicago Bears following a four-year stint in the Windy City.
He started 38 games across 45 appearances in Chicago after that franchise made Jenkins a second-round pick (No. 39 overall out of Oklahoma State) in the 2021 NFL draft.
Teven Jenkins’ Back Injury Appears to Have Cost Him Starting Right Guard Job With Browns
The lone 2025 holdover of the Browns’ projected starting five on the O-line heading into the 2026 campaign, Jenkins suffered a back injury that sidelined him ahead of the team’s matchup with the Jaguars last weekend.
It is unclear how serious the injury is, though there is at least a chance Jenkins could be healthy enough to play a few days from now. But as Monken noted, he won’t be doing so in a starting capacity for Cleveland any time soon — barring an injury to Barber or someone else in the unit.
Jenkins is playing on a one-year deal worth just $4 million, which renders him a potential trade candidate now that he’s no longer a starter. And one team that could desperately use some help at offensive guard is the Green Bay Packers.
Teven Jenkins Makes Sense as Trade Target for Packers, Even if Aaron Banks Returns Healthy for Week 2
The Packers’ interior offensive line play was abysmal against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. And even with left guard Aaron Banks returning to the practice field on Wednesday after missing the opener with knee tendonitis, Green Bay still has a massive problem at right guard to address.
The Packers started Donovan Jennings and Jacob Monk at the offensive guard positions in Minnesota last weekend, and the results were disastrous. In fact, ESPN’s Mina Kimes and Ben Solak suggested on Tuesday that Green Bay was lucky to get out of Minneapolis with QB Jordan Love still physically in tact.
Jenkins isn’t an ideal option, especially after losing his job in Cleveland to a rookie, but he might be the top guard potentially available. And it does not appear that Jenkins has a longterm future with the Browns, so Monken and company may as well consider what type of Day 3 draft asset they might get back in return for Jenkins ahead of the league’s November 10 trade deadline.
Browns Trade Pitch Flips Former 2nd-Round Pick to Packers After Abrupt Demotion