What to watch for: Browns kick 2024 preseason off against Packers

CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns host the Green Bay Packers Saturday afternoon to kick off the preseason.

“It's an opportunity for our guys to compete and as you know, that's a core tenet of who we are,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “So regardless of who's out there, we expect to compete. And the nice part, obviously in those games we will get some different situations in different settings. It'll be live so it's tackling to the ground. So that's something that you continue to emphasize with your guys and I know it's not going to be perfect in game one, we don't expect it to be, but I think just the sheer competition of it all is what we're most excited about.”

Here’s what we will be watching for.

Limited reps – The starters that do play Saturday will only be on the field for about 10 snaps. Expect the most work for starters this preseason to come during joint practices next week against the Vikings and the third preseason game at Seattle.

QB rotation – Jameis Winston will start in place of Deshaun Watson. “I think he's a good football player,” Stefanski said. “I'd really start there. He's played a lot of games in this league, won a lot of football games, so that's really the most important piece. Now obviously he's a good person and that way can support all of his teammates.” Tyler Huntley and Dorian Thompson-Robinson are expected to split the remaining snaps evenly. “Snoop's done a great job in the meeting room, very intelligent, gets questions, answers, questions quickly in that meeting room. I'm impressed by that,” Stefanski said of Huntley. “And then we know the player that we've seen him perform on the field, so we'll get a chance to see him Saturday night obviously and do those type of things. But he's a talented player and I'm excited for Snoop and all those quarterbacks, but to be in a game setting and go kind of do their thing is exciting.”

Target Tillman – Big things are expected by the Browns of receiver Cedric Tillman in his second season. “Obviously year two [I’m] more comfortable than year one, so just learning on things from last year and just trying to be a better player for the organization,” Tillman said. Tillman, who caught 21 passes for 224 yards as a rookie, has had a strong start to camp and opportunity knocks to carry that to the field.

Left tackle – With Jack Conklin recovering from ACL and MCL surgery and Jedrick Wills Jr. rehabbing from the MCL injury that ended his 2023 season, James Hudson III has been handling the reps at left tackle and Dawand Jones, who had an outstanding rookie season before a torn MCL ended it, has been holding down the right side. “I'd say James has done a nice job with right and left throughout his career,” Stefanski said. “Even practice, he works on both sides. So I think he's excited for any opportunity. Those are great reps for him.”

Hall pass – Defensive tackle Mike Hall, the Browns’ top draft pick in 2024, has been showered with compliments this offseason from coaches to players. Injuries up front have opened the door for Hall, who should see plenty of playing time.

Kicked off – Don’t expect to see much when it comes to the new kickoff play from the Browns. “I don't think I'll show too much,” special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said this week. Just kicking the ball out of the end zone is an option – in the preseason. “I think that we're working out of some different approaches with him…different ball placement,” Ventrone said. “We're working a bunch of different things. There wasn't a lot of times where I asked him to bang touch backs last year, but look, it is hard to kick in our stadium. There's a lot of wind that factors into it. So yeah, the placement is definitely going to be a big point of emphasis for us.”

Broadcast – 92.3 The Fan, 98.5 WNCX and the University Hospitals radio network; WEWS TV-5

Kickoff – 4:25 p.m. Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio