3 Cleveland Browns to watch during the preseason finale

Cleveland Browns fans have plenty to be excited about heading into this final preseason game. The team has not played many of their starters on the offensive side of the ball, as expected. We also haven't seen prolonged playing time for any of the starters defensively either.

Instead the Browns have mainly used joint practices to get their starters the valuable repetitions. While this can be a great way to get experience, there is no supplement for real game simulation. No matter what you do in a controlled practice you cannot fully simulate the chaos of a live game. So in this preseason finale there are several players we should be watching to see how they respond to live game action.

Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson has yet to take a snap in a preseason game. There is some uncertainty that he will even play in the finale. It was reported by head coach Kevin Stefanski that the plan was for Watson to play in the finale, but Watson seemed surprised by that statement when asked by a reporter.

It's concerning that there isn't better communication between Stefanski and Watson as they are entering their third year of working together. Hopefully, the two had a good conversation. behind closed doors and any miscommunications were addressed.

Fans should be excited to see Watson if he does indeed hit the field. He was playing his best football the last time he played and was close to the Houston Texans version of himself that the Browns traded for. It will be a good way to see how his injury is healing and see the progress that he is making.

Most reports coming out of training camp seem to indicate that Watson has been performing well. Being able to see this in person, in a live game, should help Browns fans get even more excited for the regular season.

Jerry Jeudy

As with Watson, fans have not seen Jerry Jeudy in any live action. Jeudy has been sidelined with injuries frequently during training camp. Lately, though, we have gotten to see clips of Jeudy performing well in both team practices and joint practices.

Jeudy so far has come as advertised and has shown great route running ability. This type of route running paired with veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper could help the Browns to have a very good wide receiver group.

It will be interesting to see the type of chemistry that he is able to develop with Watson. The Browns won't reveal too much of their offensive strategy for the regular season during the preseason finale, but it will be good to see Jeudy and Watson work on their timing in a live game.

Germain Ifedi

Injuries are already starting to pile up for the Cleveland Browns. Both starting tackles from the first game last year are still unable to fully practice in Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin. With James Hudson proving that he is unable to control the position it has turned into a rotating door.

This is all too familiar territory that the Browns and their fans are finding themself in. To rub salt into the wound, the Browns chose not to draft a tackle in what was widely regarded as a deep tackle class by NFL draft experts.

This week it seems like Germain Ifedi might get his shot to prove that he can be the team's opening-day left tackle if Wills is unable to go. The Seattle Seahawks will be able to give Ifedi a true test as they have plenty of solid pass rushers to challenge Ifedi. It will be interesting to see if Stefanski schemes in extra help for Ifedi, or whoever the left tackle is, like he did last year with all of the injuries.

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