Fans won’t get a chance to see most starters play on Thursday Night, but first overall pick Baker Mayfield will likely see the field a lot in the final week of the preseason against the Detroit Lions.
Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions: Thursday, August 30, 7 pm est
It’s now week four and with the preseason coming to an end, we’ll get to see a lot from the backups in Thursday nights matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns. If you’re expecting to see a Matthew Stafford appearance this week you’ll be disappointed and rightly so. Teams will be very cautious this week as we are now only ONE WEEK AWAY from regular season NFL football and with the collegiate season beginning this week, it’s a very exciting time to be a football fan.
This weeks opponent: The Cleveland Browns
The Browns come into this game off of a bizarre 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles last week. Some of our older Lions fans might remember that the Lions are the only team to famously lose a postseason game by a score of 5-0. That back in the Landry days of the 70s.
Two major topics are coming from Cleveland this week and those would be the return of former 1600 yard receiver Josh Gordon and the opportunity for Browns fans and the rest of the league to get an extended look at top rookie Baker Mayfield with Tyrod Taylor likely sitting out this weeks game. Browns coach Hue Jackson has said that Gordon will definitely not be starting for the team week one so it will be interesting to see how they decide to bring him along this season.
Hakeem Valles and Brandon Powell
UDFA WR Brandon Powell is a player that I personally took notice of during the Detroit Lions first preseason game against the Raiders and he has continued to string together solid performances, with the most noticeable coming this past week in Tampa. Fans are really warming up to him and with regular season cuts coming up shortly after the final preseason game, many fans such as myself are hoping that the team can find a roster spot for him.
The same can be said for journeyman TE Hakeem Valles whose numbers aren’t necessarily flashy, but he has had some nice catches in clutch situations thus far in the preseason. If fans had their wish I think that both would make the roster, however, for that to happen, another TE needs to be cut and to me, Levine Toilolo is the most obvious option. Bob Quinn has yet to keep five wide receivers and four tight ends on the same team, but four and four or three and five are both possibilities.
Stay Tuned…
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