CLEVELAND — Thursday night's preseason victory wasn't just a win for the Cleveland Browns; it was a win for hometown kid Luke Floriea, who had an impressive night and made his case to earn a spot on the 53-man roster in the final game before the cutdown deadline.
The Mentor native and former Kent State Golden Flash started off the third preseason game with an opening drive touchdown. The Browns drove 67 yards downfield in seven plays, capped off with a six-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel, who also had himself an impressive night.
On the Browns' next drive, Gabriel found Floriea again on a 14-yard touchdown pass that reclaimed a 14-7 lead for the Browns.
It was nearly a hat trick for Floriea, who, after scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter, almost had a third just before halftime.
Gabriel hit Floriea on a 17-yard pass in the end zone that it appeared the receiver was able to bring up before it hit the ground. Official review, however, reversed the touchdown ruling, saying it did, in fact, hit the ground.
"I'm going to be honest, I thought I caught it, I haven't seen the replay yet. They didn't show it on the Jumbotron, so I got to see it—but there's Taylen [Green], Taylen played great tonight too, Taylen was awesome—but yeah, I got to watch the replay for the third one," Floriea told News 5 on the field after the game.
Regardless, Floriea's three-catch, two-touchdown performance was one to be proud of and one that he was happy to close out the preseason with.
"I feel great. Happy to be a Cleveland Brown, Dillon played great. Dillon gave me a lot of good chances. The offensive line blocked great. It was so fun coming out here tonight. We put on a good display. I think the offense played really well, so it was awesome," Floriea said.
Floriea entered the game coming off an incredibly strong training camp and a preseason game where he scored his first NFL touchdown in his home stadium, a pass from Shedeur Sanders as they took on the Bills in the second preseason game. Floriea has made big plays for all of the quarterbacks on the Browns' roster this summer. He said he's tried to make sure he's in the right spots so those moments can happen.
"I just try to be consistent. Quarterbacks like guys that are in the right spot at the right time, and I try to do that every time for them. So if that means we have a really good connection, then I'm going to try and keep that going as best I can," he said.
The Browns have until 6 p.m. on Sunday to cut their roster down to 53, and Floriea is hoping his training camp and preseason were enough to earn him one of the spots on the initial 53-man roster. Either way, Floriea is proud of the work he put in and showcased this summer.
"Whatever decision they're going to make, they're going to make. It's kind of out of my hands at this point, but I can go to bed at night happy with how I played, and I gave it everything I have and that's all I can ask for," Floriea said.
