Commanders vs. Browns: Who will see playing time in Week 1 preseason game

The Washington Commanders will travel to play the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL preseason on August 11. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The game will air on WRC Channel 4 (Washington) and WEWS 5 (Cleveland).

Washington Commanders

The Commanders are rolling with second-year quarterback Sam Howell as their starter for the 2023-24 NFL season. But that’s not to say there won’t be competition happening from the remaining players on the depth chart. Veteran Jacoby Brissett is no stranger to starting duties, and Jake Fromm is entering his fourth pro campaign. For now, it appears that the preseason will mostly feature Brissett and Fromm, while Howell continues working in practice with the first-team. Along with the QBs, rookie running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. should find a heavy workload in the next few games.

Which Commanders will play, expected inactives

Cleveland Browns

The Browns had a nice rhythm going in last week’s Hall of Fame game win against the Jets. Kellen Mond led with 13 completions on 19 attempts for 92 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson secured himself a strong debut (8-11 for 82 yards, one touchdown and 36 rushing yards). It’s likely we see the ground game to continue for the Browns on Friday against Washington, and it’ll be interesting to see how Thompson-Robinson builds on his solid opening performance.

Which Browns will play, expected inactive

Update: The game has already been delayed an hour due to inclement weather. This change seemingly spells a night off for the starters that were previously expected to play.

Cleveland has named Deshaun Watson as their starting QB for this preseason game. He didn’t know how much he would be playing, but we at least know that Watson will be starting under center.