For Cleveland Browns starters, preseason rest is over: Crowquill

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns looked like they had a well-considered plan to sit most of their starters in the preseason, so they would be fresh and healthy when the regular season opens in Kansas City.

Kevin Stefanski changed all that when he decided to play Baker Mayfield and some other starters tonight in the final game of the preseason against the Atlanta Falcons. They won’t play a lot, but by changing his mind he left the door open for criticism if a starter gets injured.

Injuries are part of the game that can happen anytime, so it isn’t so surprising that Stefanski would change his mind to risk a couple of series so that the starters could get some full-speed reps before the opener.

It’s probably a good thing that the head coach is willing to change his mind if the situation calls for it, no matter how good the previous plan may have seemed.

Read more: Stefanski’s decision goes against his Camp Health theme: Cabot

Recent cartoons by Ted Crow:

Browns strategy is rest and see when it comes to preseason: Crowquill

Cleveland Browns dealing with injury bug and coronavirus part of game: Crowquill

Crowquill, by artist Ted Crow, appears Wednesdays and Sundays in The Plain Dealer and on cleveland.com.