Steinbach gets snaps at center; Jackson better

Bengals starting left guard Eric Steinbach said early this afternoon that he received some snaps at center during practice last week.

There has been talk of switching Steinbach to center and using rookie Andrew Whitworth at left guard. Whitworth started and played left guard when Steinbach played left tackle in place of injured Levi Jones in Week 2 against Cleveland.

Eric Ghiaciuc has started two games and played much of the Cleveland game when starting center Rich Braham went down with a knee injury. The Bengals are calling Braham's injury a "deep knee bruise," but Braham is believed to have a fractured bone in the lower leg. Braham said today he was hoping to be back by the end of the season.

"I'm happy at guard, but we'll see," said Steinbach, the most versatile offensive lineman on the team, yet the one the Bengals have chosen not to re-sign to a contract extension. Steinbach will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and starting and playing well at three line positions increases his value on the open market.

The Bengals returned to work today after getting three days off for the bye week and will practice this afternoon.

In the locker room, strong safety Dexter Jackson, who sprained his ankle in the Brown game, walked through the locker room without any brace on his leg or ankle. He carried a jump rope and walked with assistant strength coach Ray Oliver. Jackson was not available because he went into the trainer's room.

The return of Jackson against his former team, Tampa Bay, on Sunday would help the Bengals poor run defense.

Also, outside linebacker Rashad Jeanty still wore a protective boot on his left foot but was moving much better as he walked to his locker. He said the plan was for him to play Sunday against the Buccaneers.