CLEVELAND, Ohio --
Day 8 Browns Training Camp, August 1, 2025
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco scrambles as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett gets around the edge during a drill at day eight of Browns training camp in Berea. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns’ “dress rehearsal” game against the Rams today will be without key starters such as Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and Joel Bitonio.
Cedric Tillman (thumb) and Kenny Pickett (hamstring) will also sit out the game with their injuries.
Garrett and Bitonio largely because of their exalted status on the team and the fact that they’re such longtime veterans who don’t need preseason snaps.
Ward probably would’ve sat out the the game as well, but that decision was made for him on Tuesday when he suffered a right shoulder injury in practice. Ward’s injury isn’t serious, but he’s day-to-day. He’ll likely be ready for the opener against the Bengals, but the Browns haven’t guaranteed it. They’ll really need him against Joe Burrow and Co.
Bitonio hasn’t played in a preseason game since 2021, and Garrett hasn’t played in one over the past several years.
Joe Flacco will start the game along with the rest of the first-teamers, and play about 20-25 plays. It will mark Flacco’s first-preseason snaps as he prepares for the Week 1 start. Dillon Gabriel will come off the bench to replace Flacco, and Shedeur Sanders will play third. Time-permitting, Tyler Huntley might also play some snaps.
The fact that Pickett is still resting doesn’t mean he’s been ruled out yet as the backup for the opener. He returned to some 11-on-11s this week, and can be QB2 if he continues to progress. If not, Gabriel will draw that assignment.
While the Browns will play their starters in the first quarter and possibly beyond, the Rams are expected to rest most of their starters, taking some of the edge off “dress rehearsal” for the Browns.
Browns not expected to play today vs. the Rams:
#0 CB Greg Newsome II
#4 QB Deshaun Watson
#8 QB Kenny Pickett
#18 WR David Bell
#19 WR Cedric Tillman
#21 CB Denzel Ward
#43 LB Mohamoud Diabate
#51 DT Mike Hall Jr.
#59 LB Winston Reid
#71 T Cornelius Lucas
#75 G Joel Bitonio
#95 DE Myles Garrett
FLIPCARD CHANGES
Add: #38 WR Chase Cota, #44D LB Marvin Moody and #48 LB Charlie Thomas III
Remove: #97 DT Jowon Briggs, #35O Toa Taua and #40 Nathaniel Watson
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