Washington Commanders

Redskins bring back defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

After struggling to stop the run Monday night, the Washington Redskins have moved quickly to bring back defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins.

Things started off fairly well for the Washington Redskins Monday night, with a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Pittsburgh Steelers quickly took control after that, on their way to a 38-16 win, as they piled up 435 yards of offense.

Steelers’ running back DeAngelo Williams had 26 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns on Monday night, as a capable fill-in for the suspended Le’Veon Bell once again, so there is clearly a need to address defensively for the Redskins. On that note, Washington will reportedly bring back some reinforcement for their defensive line.

I’m told the Redskins plan to re-sign DL Cullen Jenkins today, per source. Released him during final cuts. More on @breakburgundy.

— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 13, 2016

Jenkins’ best years are probably behind him at 35 years old, but he did start 13 games for the New York Giants in 2015. He has also started at least 11 games in five straight seasons, with at least that many starts eight times over his previous 12 NFL seasons.

The Steelers’ offense will make a lot of opposing defenses look bad this year, so the Redskins can take some solace in that fact going forward. But it’s clearly some help is needed on that side of the ball, including some adjustments scheme-wise from defensive coordinator Joe Barry to dictate better matchups.

Jenkins is far from a fix-all solution on his own, but if healthy he can help improve Washington’s run defense over the rest of the season.