Cleveland sidelines its starters and top backups against New England, leaving prospects Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green as the stars at quarterback in the Browns preseason finale.
Week 3 of the preseason is more of a formality than anything for the Cleveland Browns.
Todd Monken admitted this week that he had originally planned on treating the team's preseason finale as a final dress rehearsal for the team. After a conversation with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, that plan went out the window, as both coaches agreed their teams' lack of depth was reason enough not to play anyone of significance.
And so, Thursday night's stage will primarily feature the backups for both teams, as players down the depth chart will look to earn a spot on their respective team's 53-man rosters.
Monken had already declared that the team's starters will not play in this game, including newly anointed starting quarterback Deshaun Watson. Somewhat controversially, primary backup, Shedeur Sanders won't suit up for this game either after getting a chance to play the third quarter of the first preseason game and start one against the Buffalo Bills last Saturday.
That leaves 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and this year's sixth-round pick Taylen Green as the stars of Thursday night's show at quarterback. Gabriel will start the game, with Green expected to take over at some point in the second half.
Elsewhere, there are at least a handful of players still vying to make the 53-man roster, who could use a strong performance against the Patriots to cement their fate.
In the meantime, Cleveland revealed the notable list of players, who are not expected to play. That list is essentially made of of players who have been injured or returning from injury, but plenty of others won't suit up as well, per Monken's decision to not play his starters.
WR Isaiah Bond
TE Joe Royer
S Daniel Thomas
CB Myles Bryant
FB Michael Burton
LB Carson Schwesinger
C Parker Brailsford
DT Travis Bell
DT Sam Kamara
DT Kalia Davis
DT Maliek Collins
The Browns and Patriots officially kick off their preseason matchup at 8:00 p.m. Eastern from Huntington Bank Field.
