Numerous reports, including those from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and Pro Football Talk, indicate the NFL is canceling half of the traditional 4-game preseason schedule. The exhibition games are the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.
The reports indicate the league is trimming off the first and last weeks of the preseason schedule. For the Browns, that means a road trip to Chicago and a home date with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will no longer happen. The August 22nd game in Green Bay and the home contest with the Minnesota Vikings on August 30th are still set to run as scheduled.
In addition, the teams will travel the day before the games instead of heading in earlier. Joint practice sessions, a growing feature in recent years, were one of the first things the NFL cancelled earlier this offseason.