5 Things to watch in Cleveland Browns first preseason game

5. The kicking battle

So far in camp, Greg Joseph has been outplaying Austin Seibert. Surely, the Browns want that to change as they spent a fifth-round pick on the Oklahoma product this offseason with the intention that Seibert would solidify the spot for the next decade-plus. Even so, there’s very little chance they’ll keep him on the team if Joseph continues to outplay him when given the chance in preseason games.

Lining up against a different team and kicking in front of a stadium full of people should have much more bearing on the outcome of the kicking battle. That means all eyes should be on these two as they each look to make their case for a spot on this team — or possibly one of the other 31 teams in the league as one of them will be cut in a few short weeks.

This won’t be the only kicking battle to watch as Britton Colquitt and Jamie Gillan, better known as ‘The Scottish Hammer’, will be trying to prove they deserve the punting job. Colquitt has a leg up on the undrafted rookie but it’s hard to ignore the air Gillan gets on his punts.

His hang time is unreal but he needs to get better at the finer points of the game. He also needs to work as a field goal holder, something he didn’t do at Arkansas-Pine Bluff as he was also the placekicker there in addition to the punter.

Gillan has a long way to go if he even wants to make this team, but a $2.7 million contract owed to Colquitt could factor in their decision.