The NFL on Tuesday released its 2019 preseason schedule, and it includes good news for those wearing brown and orange.
The NFL's most passionate fan base will have an opportunity to see their team's first live action of 2019 in person when the Browns open at home against the Washington Redskins.
Below is how the Browns' four-game schedule will stand. Home games at FirstEnergy Stadium are listed in CAPS.
Week 1 (August 8-12): vs. WASHINGTON
Week 2 (August 15-19): at Indianapolis
Week 3 (August 22-26): at Tampa Bay
Week 4 (August 29-September 1): vs. DETROIT
Browns players -- including newly acquired superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr. -- are back in Berea for the start of offseason workouts. We snapped some photos of their arrivals.
Browns tight end David Njoku poses after walking into the team facility for the start of offseason workouts Monday in Berea.
Odell Beckham Jr. signs in after arriving at the team facility Monday in Berea.
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens arrives for the start of offseason workouts Monday.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield arrives for the start of offseason workouts Monday in Berea.
Odell Beckham Jr. arrives alongside Browns safety Damarious Randall (right).
Browns tight end Seth DeValve raises a fist in triumph upon arriving at the team facility for the start of offseason workouts Monday.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield walks through the lobby of the team facility Monday morning.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett slaps hands as he arrives for the start of offseason workouts.
Browns defensive back Juston Burris arrives for the start of offseason workouts Monday.
Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey points as he walks into the team facility for the start of offseason workouts Monday.
Browns guard Joel Bitonio walks through the doors to the facility for the start of offseason workouts Monday.
Browns tackle Chris Hubbard walks into the facility Monday for the start of offseason workouts.
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward smiles as he enters the facility for the start of offseason workouts Monday.
Specific times and dates will be announced by the Browns in the coming weeks. The NFL is expected to release the regular-season schedule later this month as well.
None of the Browns' preseason opponents will appear on their regular season schedule.
The Browns will travel to Indianapolis for joint practices ahead of their Week 2 meeting with the Colts, who earned a playoff berth and promptly unseated the AFC South champion Houston Texans on Wild Card Weekend. Cleveland's meeting with Indianapolis will be its best test against proven competition and will cap a week of competition that is expected to be intense between two teams vying for NFL supremacy for years to come.
It's also just the second time the two clubs have met in the preseason since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999. The Colts won their 2013 preseason meeting, 27-6, and snuck past the Browns in their last regular-season battle, 31-28, in 2017.
Washington brings a bit of a fresh look to the Browns' preseason schedule, which has included the Redskins just four times since 1999 (2000, 2001, 2014, 2015). The two teams last met in the regular season in 2016, when the Redskins came away with a 31-20 win in Landover, Maryland.
The Redskins were in contention for the NFC East in 2018, leading the division in Week 11 when quarterback Alex Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury, which ended his season and sent Washington's campaign off track. While Smith's status remains uncertain, the Redskins retooled in the offseason and should present another challenge for the upstart Browns.
Tampa Bay has seen plenty of the Browns in recent years, facing off during the 2018 regular season after meeting in the preseason annually from 2015-2017. The Browns posted a 2-1 mark in that stretch, but lost their 2018 regular-season meeting in overtime, 26-23.
Detroit features Matt Stafford and a team the Browns have battled 47 times during the preseason. Last year's preseason finished with the Browns traveling north to Ford Field, where Baker Mayfield completed 9 of 16 passes for 138 yards in the 35-17 win. It was the first preseason meeting between the two teams, which once met annually in the month before the regular season from 2002-2014. Detroit leads the all-time preseason series 25-21-1.
The Browns finished 3-1 in 2018's preseason before posting a 7-8-1 record in the regular season.
News 5 (WEWS) is the preseason television home of the Cleveland Browns. Longtime sports broadcast veteran and Browns fan Jay Crawford and former Browns quarterback Tim Couch will return for their second season of work calling the games on News 5 local television broadcast. Dustin Fox and Bernie Kosar will provide sideline commentary during the telecast.
Jim Donovan and Doug Dieken will serve as the radio broadcast team and call their 21st consecutive season together, and Nathan Zegura will serve as sideline reporter for his sixth consecutive season on Browns preseason games. All preseason games will air on the Cleveland Browns Radio Network, including the team's flagship stations 92.3 The Fan, ESPN 850 WKNR and 98.5 WNCX.
