CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns wrapped up a weekend of joint practices with the New York Giants with a 17-13 preseason victory over the Giants on Sunday.
The Giants joined the Browns on Thursday for two days of practices leading up to Sunday’s exhibition. The exhibition was the Browns’ only preseason game at home this season.
The practices and Sunday’s exhibition gave the Browns and coach Kevin Stefanski one last look before making another round of cuts. The NFL requires all teams to trim their rosters from 85 to 80 by Tuesday.
For Stefanski, Sunday’s exhibition was an opportunity to see what those players fighting for a roster spot can do in a real game situation. The Browns mostly went with a lineup of third- and fourth-string players.
“I thought the guys worked really hard today and competed for 60 minutes,” Stefanski said. “We were put in a bunch of different scenarios in this ballgame so I thought that was really good for us. We also realize that we have a ways to go. We are just not where we need to be, but that is OK. We have some practices coming up.”
Reserve linebacker Malcolm Smith described what it was like for players trying to compete for a roster spot with the Giants in town.
“It got a little chippy at times,” Smith said. “ Obviously, it is a competitive league and we are all fighting for jobs so you can imagine how things can get when it is heated and going back and forth. There is a lot of pride and ego involved unfortunately, but that is part of the game. You have to be willing to push it to the edge a little bit, and I think we took it there. It was good to compete against them today, but we have to focus on us.”
As preseason continues, the Browns have racked up a number of injuries. Among them, cornerback Denzel Ward was held out of practice on Friday due to soreness. Linebacker Sione Takitaki was held back due to a hamstring injury.
The final roster will consist of 53 players, and must be set by Aug. 31.
