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Welcome to the NFL http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-deiter-jersey , Baker Mayfield. Andrew Luck.While the opening preseason game for most teams carries little intrigue as players from the back end of the roster try to strut their stuff, several story lines will be worth following Thursday night.Start in the New Jersey Meadowlands and in Seattle.Top overall draft pick Mayfield will see some action against the Giants, who have their own prized rookie in second overall selection Saquon Barkley. The Browns might not be counting on too much from Mayfield early on as veteran Tyrod Taylor is Cleveland’s starter, but New York expects a huge boost for its offense from the Penn State running back.On the other coast, the Colts plan for their recently luckless quarterback to take some snaps against the Seahawks. Luck hurt the right shoulder in September 2015 against Tennessee, missed two games, then returned to make four more starts before sustaining a season-ending lacerated kidney. He played through shoulder pain in 2016, then had surgery that sidelined him for all of last season.It’s been roughly 600 days between starts for the Colts star.Elsewhere on the first full night of preseason games, it’s Carolina at Buffalo, Chicago at Cincinnati, New Orleans at Jacksonville, Tampa Bay at Miami, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore, Washington at New England, Tennessee at Green Bay, Houston at Kansas City, and Dallas at San Francisco.What to look for Thursday night around the league:BAKER AND BARKLEYBrimming with optimism coming off a 0-16 season Garrett Bradbury Jersey , Cleveland’s plan is to have Mayfield sit and learn as a rookie behind Taylor, who will start at MetLife Stadium and play one or two series before giving way to Mayfield, who is expected to play two quarters.“When you get the energy level up, you’ve got to be able to execute, so that’s why I’m excited about Thursday as well,” Mayfield said. “You get people hyped up, you actually get some contact in and you can focus in and do your job when there are distractions around.”New Giants coach Pat Shurmur, who led the Browns in 2011-12, hasn’t indicated how much Barkley will play.“I am hoping I am good to go for that game,” Barkley said. “I am more than capable to playing now. I am just happy inside to play in my first NFL game. Hopefully I can maximize every rep.”LUCKY COLTSLuck is expected to play most of the first quarter, likely one or two series playing in a revamped offense with an overhauled offensive line.“I’ll be excited and a little nervous,” Luck said. “There were one or two moments where I wondered if, ‘Am I ever going to be able to do this again?'”Seattle is also revamped. The names Sherman, Avril, Bennett and Chancellor that used to don the backs of jerseys are no longer around. It’ll be the first look at an overhauled defense where the big questions center on the secondary — star safety Earl Thomas is holding out— and what kind of pass rush can be generated.VRABEL’S DEBUTMike Vrabel says he really hasn’t spent much time thinking of any pregame speech in his debut as Titans coach.“Never really got a great motivational speech as a professional athlete,” Vrabel said. “Just had a job to do, was prepared, knew the game plan and went out and played.”Another man with Patriots ties, cornerback Malcolm Butler http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-irv-smith-jr.-jersey , plays his first game for Tennessee. He most memorably was benched on defense for the Super Bowl in February even as New England’s secondary was torn apart by Philadelphia.A season-ending knee injury to Packers inside linebacker Jake Ryan left a hole in the run defense. Third-round pick Oren Burks will get the first chance at replacing Ryan in the base defense.FLORIDA MATCHUPMiami’s eyes will be on Ryan Tannehill, who like Luck sat out last season when injured. He’ll make a brief appearance against Tampa Bay, which won’t have top draftee DT Vita Vea (calf injury).PENNSYLVANIA MATCHUPTwo teams with Super Bowl possibilities, though the regulars barely will get on the field.Pittsburgh, of course, is without outstanding running back Le’Veon Bell, who is holding out. All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown and QB Ben Roethlisberger will sit.With Carson Wentz still not cleared for contact and Nick Foles, the Super Bowl MVP, sidelined by muscle spasms in his shoulder and neck, third-year pro QB Nate Sudfeld starts.CALIFORNIA MATCHUPNo, the Cowboys don’t call California home. They do spend a few weeks there in the summer, and now they’ll visit the 49ers.Dallas is searching for leadership with tight end Jason Witten gone to ESPN and WR Dez Bryant cut.San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo, 7-0 as a starter in his four-year career, will be taking his first snaps in a game since signing a five-year, $137.5 million contract. He’s looked good during training camp.POUNDING THE ROCKNew Orleans and Jacksonville expect to get a brief look at their revamped ground games.Saints running back Terrance West is trying to prove he’s the guy to fill in for Pro Bowl starter Mark Ingram, who will serve a four-game suspension to start the regular season.Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette dropped more than 15 pounds since the start of last season and will have a retooled line with All-Pro left guard Andrew Norwell.“I feel healthier,” said Fournette, down to 223 pounds thanks partly to 50 push-ups a night. “I want to be great. That is my weight I felt best in college.”SECOND OUTINGChicago already has played, using backups and losing the Hall of Fame game to Baltimore. This visit to Cincinnati Alexander Mattison Jersey , though, is the first chance to see Mitchell Trubisky operate the new offense of coach Matt Nagy in game conditions. The Trubisky to Allen Robinson connection started to show up more in practice this week.Cincinnati overhauled its porous line, bringing in veteran tackles Cordy Glenn and Bobby Hart and drafting center Billy Price in the first round.WATCH WHAT YOU SAYBills starting receiver Kelvin Benjamin will face his former team for the first time since asking the Panthers to trade him in October. Benjamin was reprimanded by coach Sean McDermott on Sunday for questioning why Carolina drafted him and criticizing Panthers quarterback Cam Newton’s accuracy.Newton will play about 10 snaps in his first action under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.MAHOMES’ TURNWhen Kansas City traded starting QB Alex Smith to Washington, the job was handed to 2017 first-rounder Patrick Mahomes. He’ll get his first turn as the Chiefs’ No. 1 quarterback against Houston.“We are going to try to win. That is the first thing coach (Andy) Reid said when we were game planning for this week is he doesn’t like losing,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes.”PRACTICE, THEN PLAYJoe Flacco makes his preseason debut for Baltimore after watching three other quarterbacks run the offense against Chicago. Flacco will likely be paired with a new flock of receivers that includes John Brown, Willie Snead, Michael Crabtree and first-round draft pick Hayden Hurst. The Rams will be playing their first preseason game following a pair of joint practices with the Ravens earlier this week.WHO GETS THE BALL?The Redskins’ running back competition will be front and center at the Patriots. Second-round pick Derrius Guice will get an opportunity to show he can be No. 1, with third-down back Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley seeing action. The likes of Samaje Perine, Byron Marshall and Kapri Bibbs figure to compete for a roster spot.New England WR Julian Edelman made several rounds of apologies when his four-game suspension was handed down by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancers. He plans to use what’s left of training camp to make sure his surgically repaired knee will be ready when he returns. Edelman missed the entire 2017 season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. The biggest questions swirling around the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason centered on Tyreek Hill, and whether their speedy, record-setting wide receiver would be around at all this season.Turns out he’ll be around for the start of camp.Chiefs coach Andy Reid confirmed Tuesday that Hill would report to Scanlon Hall on the campus of Missouri Western State University with the rest of the veterans on Friday, one week after the NFL said it would not punish him following an investigation into domestic violence involving his 3-year-old son.Hill has been away from the team since the draft in April, when audio first surfaced in which his then-fiancee, Crystal Espinal, accused him of hurting their son. But an investigation by the Johnson County, Kansas, district attorney resulted in no criminal charges being filed, and a subsequent inquiry by the NFL that included an 8-hour meeting with Hill in Kansas City likewise turned up nothing.So when the NFL declined to punish Hill http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dru-samia-jersey , the Chiefs likewise lifted their own suspension.“We look forward to bringing him back here and have an opportunity to get back doing what he loves to do,” Reid said. “He has some obligations that he’ll take care of as he goes. I’m not going to get into all that. But we have trust in Tyreek that we’re going to go forward in a positive way here.”The Chiefs were negotiating a long-term contract with Hill when the controversy erupted, and it remains to be seen whether that outlook has changed. Hill is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and the Chiefs effectively control him for two more years through the franchise tag.His price before the off-the-field situation had never been higher, either. Hill was coming off a season in which he shattered the Chiefs’ record with 1,479 yards receiving, and his 12 touchdown receptions and dangerous ability in the run and return games were a big reason why the Chiefs won the AFC West.“I’ve had a chance to talk to him on the phone, in person — spent quite a bit of time with him actually,” Reid said. “He’s remorseful that he’s had to put all of us through what we went through. I feel bad for him. That’s a sensitive situation and you know, he wants to get back and he wants to do what he needs to do to be a father and a player here, so he’s very conscious of that.”Hill may have missed the Chiefs’ voluntary summer practices and their mandatory three-day minicamp, but he’s still been running routes and catching passes from Patrick Mahomes in impromptu workouts.“You always stay in touch with teammates and guys you built relationships with,” Mahomes said. “We stayed in touch as much as possible as well as letting that stuff handle itself. It’s good to welcome him back and be part of the team and build what we want to build.”His return also takes some pressure off rookie Mecole Hardman, who was chosen in the second round of the draft with the expectation that Hill could miss some — or even all — of the upcoming season.Just like Hill, the former Georgia standout is a speedster who can contribute in a variety of ways.“I’m glad Tyreek is back. I’m happy he’s here,” Hardman said. “I’m ready to learn from him, watch him practice, and just learn everything he can teach me. I’m ready to learn.”Now that Hill is back in the fold, the big question is when Chris Jones will arrive.The star defensive tackle Daniel Jones Jersey , who is coming off a 15½-sack season, is seeking his own long-term deal as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. Jones played hardball during the offseason by skipping the voluntary and mandatory workouts, even at the risk of a club fine, but he remains under contract and must report to training camp by Aug. 6 to earn an accrued season toward free agency.“Our people have talked to Chris’ people, there’s been communication, so we’ll just see whether he’s here or not here,” Reid said. “We obviously want him here and I think he probably wants to be here, too, but we’ll see how all of that works out.”The Chiefs overhauled their defense this offseason, replacing fired coordinator Bob Sutton with Steve Spagnuolo and shifting from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 system. And given how much time Jones has missed, that means a steep learning curve whenever he reports to camp.“You miss days, you miss days,” Reid said, “but it’s probably beneficial that he’s here.”NOTES: TE Travis Kelce will be ready to practice this week. He was held out of OTAs and minicamp because of ankle surgery. … LB Darius Harris (shoulder) and DE Tim Ward (ACL surgery), both undrafted free agents, will not be ready for the start of camp. … Rookies, quarterbacks and injured players will practice this week with the veterans joining them Friday. The first full-squad workout is Saturday.