How Much Does the Final Preseason Game Really Matter for Browns?

The Cleveland Browns are set to face the New England Patriots at Huntington Bank Field on Thursday, the last of three preseason games before we start keeping score of wins and losses.

With head coach Todd Monken announcing in advance that neither Deshaun Watson nor Shedeur Sanders would participate in this matchup, along with the rest of the team’s starters, one might wonder just how important the game really is for the club.

Actually, the Browns’ last preseason matchup is very important, not just of the team itself, as it moves towards final roster cutdowns to 53 players and practice squad allocation, but for the players involved, as well.

Here are four reasons why Cleveland hosting New England on Thursday is still a very big deal for the franchise:

It helps set the the team’s depth chart

Sure, the Browns might have a good idea of who their starting 22 players might be on offense and defense, but there’s a ton of positions where things still have to be sorted out among second- and third-stringers.

Case in point: will the Browns elect to keep Dillon Gabriel as the team’s third passer and attempt to land Taylen Green on the practice squad? Or, will the sixth-round rookie become the team’s third-stringer behind Watson and Sanders, while Cleveland moves on from last year’s third rounder?

It serves as one last audition tape

Almost half of the players on the 90-man offseason roster will be off the active regular season. For a number of these players, the contest against the Patriots will be the last time ever they get to suit up for an NFL game of any type. That’s just the cruel reality of the math involved.

For others, getting cut from Cleveland means they’ll have to find a spot somewhere else, and in some cases, a few of these players will shine wearing some other team’s colors. Getting some plays on tape, even in a game like this one, is their ticket towards another shot in the NFL. Remember, James Harrison was cut coming out of his very first training camp in Pittsburgh as an UDFA, and then spent about two years on and off the Steelers practice squad -- with a short stint on the Ravens practice squad as well -- before becoming the sackmaster he eventually turned out to be.

A number of the players who aren’t ready today to stick onto the Browns’ 53-man roster might eventually be.

It might be the only preseason game action for players coming off injury

It helps reveal unresolved vulnerabilities

Even after the team cuts down its roster to 53-players -- which is slated to happen some time before Sunday August 30 -- this will not be the final version of the 2026 Cleveland Browns as they march towards Week 1 of the regular season.

The front office will still be fine-adjusting a few positions here and there, picking up players cut from other teams or maybe even swinging a trade.

The last game of the season, especially without the starters, will help reveal the most vulnerable positions on the roster. Perhaps there is someone out there getting axed from another team who might be a better fit than what you currently have behind your starters. This game will help you identify those cases.

Backups are expected to stay ready

Even if none of the starters play tonight, backups are expected to play at a moment’s notice, and because of the toll of injuries along the regular season, a few of them will end up playing a lot more than the guys currently ahead of them.

Getting some extra reps in a preseason setting will help the backups stay ready for whenever one of them gets the call as the next man up.

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