The Cleveland Browns aren't willing to say much about the status of Jason Pinkston.
The fourth-year guard hasn't been on hand for either of the team's two training camp practices, and it's unclear what's keeping him off the field.
"Pinkston's unavailable to practice and, due to his circumstances, I cannot comment on it any further," coach Mike Pettine said after Sunday's session, per NFL Media's Aditi Kinkhabwala. "I want to give you more, but just given the circumstances, I can't. That's where we are with Jason."
General manager Ray Farmer was equally coy, telling reporters, via the team: "I think coach addressed it the best way we could ... right now there's really no comment from our prospective, and when there is time to make a comment then that comment will be made."
Pinkston started all 16 games as a rookie in 2011 but just eight tilts since. He spent the first half of last season on short-term injured reserve with an ankle injury after his 2012 campaign was sideswiped by a hospital stay for blood clots in his lungs. He took to Twitter on Sunday to drop a few breadcrumbs:
With John Greco stashed away on the non-football injury list, the Browns are suddenly thin at guard, where Paul McQuistan and Garrett Gilkey will assume snaps alongside rookie Joel Bitonio.
UPDATE: The Browns released the following statement Monday morning on Pinkston:
"Jason Pinkston has not been medically cleared to participate in football activities. The team has been in communication with Jason and his representatives and will respect their wishes to not provide any further details at this time."
The latest "Around The League Podcast" offers up team-by-team training camp previews of the NFC East and NFC West.
