2016 NFL preseason schedule: Friday features debut of newcomers like Robert Griffin III

Preseason is officially underway with six games in the books and five more on the way on Friday night.

The Hall of Fame Game was supposed to kick off the NFL’s slate of exhibition games before the 2016 season, but a series of mishaps led to the game’s cancellation. Football fans had to wait until Thursday instead.

Settle in, though. It gets old fast.

Having football back is great, but it comes with the anxiety of injury risk and the boredom of players buried on the depth chart failing to do much of anything against players you’ve never heard of on another team.

Still, Friday is the first chance fans of 10 teams will have to see their favorite players back on the field even if the stakes are really low.

Games between the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals will both be nationally broadcast on NFL Network, but full listings for local coverage can be found on 506Sports.com. Here’s the five-game slate for Friday, along with our watchability ranking for each matchup:

Miami Dolphins at New York Giants
7 p.m. ET
Away: WFOR-CBS 4, Home: WWOR-My 9

Two first-year head coaches will make their respective debuts on the sidelines, but while Ben McAdoo will try to keep things similar for the Giants, Adam Gase is tasked with transforming the Dolphins offense. With Laremy Tunsil now on the offensive line, he’ll try to get that started against a defense that paid big money in the offseason for Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and Damon Harrison.

Watchability: 3 out of 5

Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers
7 p.m. ET
National: NFL Network, Away: WJBK-FOX 2, Home: KDKA-CBS 2

The Lions and Steelers spent the last few days before their first preseason game practicing against each other. Both teams have entrenched starters at quarterback, and that means there isn’t much for either team’s first-team players to prove in preseason. So much so that the Steelers are likely to sit Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

Watchability: 2 out of 5

Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals
7:30 p.m. ET
Away: KMSP-FOX 9, Home: WKRC-CBS 12

The two playoff teams tried to keep things the same during the offseason and not make many moves, but the Bengals were pruned a bit in free agency. Now that Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu are out of Cincinnati, the Bengals will see if Tyler Boyd or Cody Core are ready to fill the void opposite A.J. Green. For the Vikings, Laquon Treadwell could be the missing piece to help Teddy Bridgewater take his game to the next level.

Watchability: 3 out of 5

Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers
8 p.m. ET
Away: WEWS-ABC 5, Home: WACY-My 32

One team has an established offense with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and the other is building from scratch with a reclamation project leading the way. The Packers were supposed to debut last weekend, but now get things started five days later against the Browns. With Robert Griffin III leading the way, Cleveland is one of the more interesting teams to keep an eye on during preseason.

Watchability: 4 out of 5

Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals
10 p.m. ET
National: NFL Network, Away: KTVU-FOX 2, Home: KNXV-ABC 15

The other national game pits two teams with high hopes against each other. The Raiders are crossing their fingers that offseason additions like Kelechi Osemele, Sean Smith and Bruce Irvin will help one of the most promising, young rosters find its way to the postseason for the first time since 2002. It’s the exact opposite for the Cardinals, though. One of the oldest rosters in the NFL, featuring aging stars like Carson Palmer, Chris Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, needs to win now before it’s too late.

Watchability: 3 out of 5