The Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns will continue their 2026 NFL exhibition season on Saturday when the two teams do battle at Huntington Bank Field. As is always the case with the preseason, the Bills will have close eyes on all the action as the team makes decisions on who will land the final 53-man roster. It will be the first time Buffalo head coach Joe Brady will be in charge of that. Leading up to kickoff, there will be few headlines to keep in mind before this matchup. With that, here are Bills Wire's four storylines to watch for ahead of Bills vs. Browns:
Do starters/ Josh Allen play? It's the preseason and unless it's the third and final contest of the exhibition season (since everyone rests then), it must be asked: Does Buffalo head coach Joe Brady play his starters? It is an interesting dilemma if you take the coaching staff into consideration. On offense, Brady has led the unit for years. There is little reason to put quarterback Josh Allen & Co. in harms way. Defensively, it will only be the second game the starters will get a feel for the system new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard wants to run... so it would be understandable to toss starters out there for a few snaps. Any more Highmark Stadium outrage? Players and coaches have already commented on their disapproval of the grass field at Highmark Stadium. Installing a grass field is appreciated by players, but the upkeep of it was the complaint. The Bills and Browns do not play in Orchard Park this weekend... even so, you can still expect the commentary. Injuries are mounting It's only the preseason so some of these are just veteran rest days... but needing those this early in the year? The likes of wide receiver Keon Coleman was one of the one that were a new addition to the list below, and he had on a walking boot at practice on Tuesday. More updates to following throughout the week.
Bills not practicing Tuesday: RB Ty Johnson WR Khalil Shakir WR Keon Coleman WR Skyler Bell WR Quentin Skinner C Connor McGovern DL Ed Oliver S C.J. Gardner-Johnson S Jalon Kilgore All but Johnson, Bell, McGovern and CJGJ are new. S Cole Bishop & CB Maxwell Hairston are back — Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 18, 2026 Joint practice... sparks incoming? The Bills head to Cleveland to face the Browns on Wednesday. Kickoff is not until Saturday. What gives? The two teams previously agreed upon having a joint practice on Thursday. That's always a test that could lead to some sparks and fights during the workout. Does that happen with the Bills and Browns? Could that bleed over into the game on Saturday? This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills at Browns: 4 storylines to watch for ahead of preseason Week 2