Along with the regular season schedule release on Wednesday night, the Browns also found out their preseason matchups and some joint practices with two other franchises.
Cleveland will play the normal three preseason games throughout the month of August. Their first matchup comes in Carolina on August 8th at 7 PM Eastern Time. They will then head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles on August 16th for a 1 PM matchup, and will end in Cleveland against the Rams on August 23rd at 1 PM. In addition to the preseason games against the Panthers and Eagles, the Browns will also participate in joint practices with those teams in the week leading up to the game.
Browns to spend extended time with Eagles & Panthers during training camp
Last season, the Browns hosted the Vikings for a joint practice, but the two years prior, they held joint practices with the Eagles. Cleveland hosted the Eagles in 2022 and traveled to Philadelphia in 2023 for some combined work during training camp. This will mark the third time in four years the two teams held practices together, including both of the seasons following the Eagles making it to the Super Bowl.
For Cleveland, it will be the fifth-straight year they will have joint practices. They have participated in combined practices in every year of Kevin Stefanski's tenure except for the first one, but this is the first time they will work against the Panthers.
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Carolina is a young team whose quarterback is coming off the best stretch of his career at the back end of the 2024 season. They aren't thought to be a contender as of now, but they have continued to get better under head coach Dave Canales and should be a good way to get the preseason going.
When it comes to the Eagles, they are obviously the standard of the NFL, coming off a dominant run to the Super Bowl. They have maybe the best offensive and defensive fronts in the league and will give the Browns, specifically number five overall pick Mason Graham, a great test early on to show the level needed to win consistently in this league.
Throughout the grind of training camp in the dog days of summer, it's refreshing to get to go against guys that aren't teammates for once. These joint practices will help give players and coaches different looks while increasing the competition level from standard intra-squad practices.