Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns will enter a new era this fall with first-time head coach Todd Monken and new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg.
It is not just the sidelines where change has occurred, as there will also be several new players from a promising rookie class led by offensive tackle Spencer Fano, to a rebuilt offensive line and defensive end Jared Verse, who was acquired this week as part of the trade that sent Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams.
Sadly, the quarterback situation remains a mess, but there is not much that Monken and general manager Andrew Berry can do at the moment about that.
One thing that remains to be seen is how Monken and the coaching staff will use the preseason to get the new guys up to speed. Previous head coach Kevin Stefanski preferred to keep his starters on the sidelines for the practice games. Still, his rosters, especially the past few years, tended to rely more on veterans, so there was merit to that strategy.
Monken may not have as much freedom, especially if the plan is to go with five starting offensive linemen who have never played together, and a starting quarterback – be it Deshaun Watson, who has not played since October of 2024, or Shedeur Sanders, who overcame the Herculean task of playing last year without any first-team reps in the summer – needing as much prep time as possible.
We may not know how that will shake out just yet, but we now know when those preseason games will be played after the team released the official schedule.
Just like the regular season, the Browns will open the preseason on the road when they take on the Chicago Bears on August 15 at 1 p.m.
The following week, the Browns will welcome the Buffalo Bills to Berea for a series of joint practices before the teams meet at Huntington Bank Field on August 22 at 1 p.m.
Finally, the Browns close out the preseason at home when they host the New England Patriots and head coach Mike “they had him in the building” Vrabel on August 27 at 8 p.m.
If Monken is going to play the starters at all, that final game could be the one to watch as they then have 17 days until they open the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 13. That is a long break, and even with practices, it would not be a bad idea to get some playing time in if they hope to have a chance at winning.
The games against the Bears and the Bills will air locally on WEWS News 5, while the Patriots game will be on Amazon Prime Video.
If you were Todd Monken, what would your strategy be for the starters in the preseason? Play them or rest them for the regular season? Let everyone know in the comments.
