The NFL preseason doesn't get the kind of love it deserves. Sure, teams aren't playing to win and the results of the games are pretty meaningless, but some of the individual efforts are as intense as you'll ever see.
The starters are just shaking off rust, but for fringe roster players this is the big show. They'll bring playoff-level intensity because their performance can end up being the deciding factor in whether they even have a job next week or not.
The Browns will open the 2023 preseason with a Hall of Fame Game matchup against the New York Jets, and there will be players whose futures in Cleveland are determined on Thursday night.
Here are three guys playing for their jobs this week.
Browns Whose Jobs Are on the Line
1. John Kelly
The top spots on the running back depth chart are pretty much set. Nick Chubb is obviously RB1, and Cleveland seems comfortable with Jerome Ford and Demetric Felton providing depth and relief on passing downs.
But below them, things get pretty cloudy.
John Kelly is entering his third season with the Browns, but even at times when Chubb and Kareem Hunt couldn't go, Kelly never managed to work his way into the backfield rotation. He's appeared in just five games, playing a grand total of 3 offensive snaps.
Cleveland has brought in some competition this year, adding former Baltimore Raven Nate McReary and undrafted free agent Hassan Hall.
The Browns would shed about a million dollars with no dead money if they cut Kelly, and a poor showing on Thursday could be the final straw.