Kevin Stefanski mysteriously benched Browns veteran during loss to 49ers

The Cleveland Browns are a bad football team.

And they fell to 3-9 after a 26-8 loss on Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers.

During the loss, Browns offensive guards Wyatt Teller and Teven Jenkins were rotating. After the game, Teller told reporters that it was a decision that came from Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski earlier in the week.

Teller said that he would not discuss injuries or too much detail, but he said that the reason Stefanski made the move was “along the lines of I wasn’t playing well enough.”

After the game, Stefanski said that he made the decision because he "wanted to see Teven in this game."

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he rotated Wyatt Teller with Teven Jenkins at RG because he “wanted to see Teven in this game.”

Teller said in the postgame locker room that coaches told him earlier in the week there would be a rotation.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) November 30, 2025

The Browns are starting polarizing rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. In Cleveland’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sanders was only sacked once. He was only sacked three times in Sunday’s loss. By all accounts, the offensive line actually has been playing better than they were to start the season.

Jenkins is a former second-round draft pick. The Browns evidently believe there’s some promise there despite the fact that he flamed out during his first four seasons with the Chicago Bears. They added him on a one-year contract this offseason.

Which means that both Jenkins and Teller will be free agents at the end of the season.

Benching Teller seems weird. He’s been the long-term solution at right guard for the Browns and his ability to pull to the outside is a big part of what Stefanski wants to accomplish offensively. If he was playing that poorly in the eyes of the coaching staff, why not just bench him all together?

That’s not where the questions end for the Browns. What happened to David Njoku?

After not being traded at the NFL’s deadline earlier this month, the 29-year-old tight end proclaimed how much he loved being in Cleveland. But why would he? This offense is completely laughable, and he’s been on a milk carton over these last few weeks.

Njoku didn’t record a single catch against the Raiders and caught just two passes against the 49ers.

It’s evident that the Browns are going to lean on young players through their five meaningless games to close this regular season.

Harold Fannin Jr. appears to be ready to take over the torch from Njoku next season. Quinshon Judkins has brought juice to the rushing attack while Dylan Sampson has been a versatile contributor.

But if Stefanski is suddenly into benching veteran players, perhaps Jerry Jeudy could find himself a nice, warm seat as he consistently hurts the team each week.

The Browns will play a team in their stratosphere, the Tennessee Titans, next Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.