On Saturday, the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings will have some final preparations for their Week 5 matchup from London. We will find out who, if any, are elevated from each team’s practice squad while both teams look for a chance to see the city a little bit. After a rainy Friday, the forecast has cleared up for Saturday and should be perfect for Sunday’s matchup.
Injuries are the obvious story with the Vikings, who are finishing up their second week overseas. For the Browns, the travel schedule
had the players tired for Thursday’s walkthrough after practicing in Berea, Ohio Wednesday afternoon and flying overnight, arriving Thursday morning in England.
Asked about the schedule, HC Kevin Stefanski noted their desire to keep things as close to normal as possible:
Throughout interviews with players, it was noted how the normalcy of the schedule, besides Thursday just being a walkthrough, helped them feel like it was a regular week, with a plane ride thrown in the middle. Stefanski also noted the extra time the coaches had, especially with QB Dillon Gabriel, while staying at The Grove, an hour and a half outside of the city center:
A serene environment (with a lot of security), Cleveland’s coaches have a chance to really lock in with the players, while the players have fewer home life details and travel to worry about since arriving Thursday morning.
As special teams Bubba Ventrone noted on Thursday, we won’t know if the Browns schedule was a good idea until we see the performance on the field Sunday. For now, the team is happy with the way things have worked out and their opportunity against the Vikings in Week 5.
