The Cleveland Browns open up their preseason on Saturday against the Chicago Bears and will be bringing plenty of interesting subplots along with them. The most interesting, of course, is the starting quarterback battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, and Watson will get first crack at proving himself as he will start against the Bears on Saturday while Sanders will start against the Buffalo Bills next week.
Watson is nearing double-digit interceptions in camp, so there is certainly some pressure on him to show some positive developments against Chicago. Aside from the QB battle, Browns fans will also get to see Jared Verse make his debut, they’ll get to see their two exciting first-round receivers for the first time as Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion take the field, and they’ll also see a familiar face on the opposite sideline for the first time in a while.
Insider Andrew Siciliano shared that former Browns left tackle and No. 10 overall pick Jedrick Wills is officially the backup left tackle for the Bears and will work with the second team against the Browns.
“Former Browns #10 overall pick Jedrick Wills will be the 2nd-team LT Saturday,” Siciliano wrote.
Former Browns #10 overall pick Jedrick Wills will be the 2nd-team LT Saturday.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) August 13, 2026
Wills was supposed to be this team’s long-term solution at left tackle, but injuries ultimately derailed what was a promising start. He took last year off from the NFL entirely so he could reset and get fully healthy ahead of his 2026 comeback, and it’s great to see him catching on with the Bears.
He is still just 27 and will serve as Braxton Jones’ backup on Saturday, and perhaps into the regular season. It’s a positive development for him since nothing was guaranteed for him heading into camp and hopefully he can eventually parlay this into another starting role sooner rather than later.
It’s a shame things didn’t work out better in Cleveland. He had big shoes to fill as the heir to Joe Thomas, and now it’s up to fellow top-ten pick Spencer Fano to hold down left tackle duties in Cleveland.
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