The Cleveland Browns kicked off their preseason schedule on Friday night with a matchup on the road against the Carolina Panthers. While it was just a preseason game, Shedeur Sanders received the start and brought a lot of eyes to the game.
He was given the start due to the fact that both Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel have been nursing injuries.
Sanders, who many thought would be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, ended up sliding all the way to the fifth round where the Browns traded up to land him.
After it was announced by head coach Kevin Stefanski that Sanders would be the starter against the Panthers, questions began swirling about how he would perform in his first NFL game action.
With his debut officially in the books, Sanders passed the test with flying colors. He did not disappoint the fans who tuned in to watch him play. Sanders played the entire first half and most of the third quarter before being pulled.
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Throughout the course of the game, Sanders completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 138 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also ran for 19 yards on four attempts.
While there were some slow moments for both Sanders and the offense as a whole, there were plenty of highlight plays as well. Sanders made himself a much more interesting option in the Cleveland four-man quarterback competition.
At this point, the Browns are expected to give the Week 1 starting nod to veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. He has been the perceived front-runner to win the job at the beginning of the year leading up to and throughout training camp.
Behind Flacco, Pickett has been viewed as the No. 2 quarterback. Gabriel has been No. 3 on the depth chart.
Following tonight’s performance, Sanders could start seeing his name being given a better chance to compete for playing time. He showed flashes of the potential that made many project him to be a first-round pick.
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It will be interesting to see what the coming weeks have in store for the former Colorado Buffaloes standout. Since arriving in Cleveland, Sanders has said all of the right things and now he has shown his talent on the field.
Even though it was just a preseason game, the kind of debut that he put together will have Browns fans clamoring for him to be the starter at some point during the 2025 NFL season.
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