The Cleveland Browns gave Shedeur Sanders the start in their first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. The team has been careful to temper expectations for the former Colorado Buffaloes star. After all, he was only their fifth-round pick and the second quarterback they selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
As such, they've brought him along slowly and have been measured in all of their interactions with the press to slow down any indication that he'll be the QB1 come Week 1, or even the primary backup to the starter. He struggled to even get reps with the first-team offense throughout training camp.
However, amid injuries to both fourth-year veteran Kenny Pickett and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, Sanders was given the chance to prove his mettle on the big stage, with former Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco watching from the sidelines. Sanders played objectively well against the Panthers, but the Browns and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski have maintained that his one performance won't shake things up too much for their depth chart.
Kevin Stefanski still set to take things slow with Shedeur Sanders in the Browns quarterback battle
Against the Carolina Panthers, Shedeur Sanders played like a top prospect instead of a fifth-round pick. He was pulled late in the third quarter for Tyler Huntley, finishing with 14-of-23 passing for two touchdowns. Perhaps even more impressive was his ability to limit his mistakes. He didn't throw any interceptions and took just two sacks for six yards. He also showed off his mobility, evading pressure several times and rushing for 19 yards.
There wasn't much more that the Browns or anyone could have asked from Sanders in his preseason debut. He even won over one of his more vocal critics in ESPN's Tony Grossi.
Unsurprisingly, his impressive outing drew a media storm. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski has been quick to slow down Sanders' quickly building momentum. When asked if Shedeur could see reps with the first-team offense in practice next week with the Philadelphia Eagles, he only had this to say:
"We need to get through the next couple days from an injury standpoint and see where everybody is. I’m really focused on all our quarterbacks' development and every single one of [the] reps."
It seems that the Browns and Stefanski aren't quite ready to bump Sanders up to QB2 just yet. Cleveland's head coach also said that he'll know soon whether Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel will be ready for joint practices with the Eagles.
It's not as if Stefanski didn't have anything nice to say about Sanders, as he praised the quarterback's accuracy after his performance against Carolina. This could turn out to simply be some strategic PR work from the head coach and the organization, but anyone hoping that Sanders' game against the Panthers would vault him into QB1 status will have to hold their horses.
