With Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel all sidelined for the Cleveland Browns’ preseason debut on Friday night against the Carolina Panthers, giving the start to Shedeur Sanders — the No. 4 quarterback on the depth chart — was an easy call.
Sanders played into the third quarter and delivered a strong showing. Working with mostly second- and third-team personnel, he completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers.
His performance drew a strong reaction from former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.
Clark used the moment to take aim at Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, referencing Haslam’s comments from July 29 when he distanced himself from the pick, saying it was general manager Andrew Berry’s decision.
“If you would’ve told me… y’all are gonna pick Shedeur [Sanders], I would say, ‘that’s not happening.’ Andrew Berry made the call to pick Shedeur,” Haslam had said.
#Browns Jimmy Haslam stresses that Shedeur Sanders was Andrew Berry’s pick, not his. pic.twitter.com/sD3yQYwSq8
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) July 29, 2025
In response to Friday night’s debut—and a subtle jab at Haslam—Clark posted, “Well, at least Andrew Berry gets to take credit for the Shedeur Sanders pick all by himself… because it was made clear the owner wanted nothing to do with it!”
Well at least Andrew Berry gets to take credit for the Shedeur Sanders pick all by himself… because it was made clear the owner wanted nothing to do with it! 👏🏾👏🏾
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 9, 2025
Fans reacted to Clark's comments:
"t was embarrassing to Cleveland to pass on first pick, Shedeur is showing his goods, he’s all about the work," a fan said.
Someone else added, "Absolutely zero reason why Andrew Berry would want to take credit for this lmao."
Another person wrote, "It's preseason game 1. So what about McKee last night in Philadelphia? Should teams be calling for him?"
"Looked good in first half of a preseason game, but let’s allow him to do it a full regular season as a starter before making such wild claims. It’s one half of a preseason game," one more fan commented.
SHEDEUR SANDERS PUT ON A SHOW IN HIS PRESEASON DEBUT ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/yEhAL5YUxy
— ESPN (@espn) August 9, 2025
Shedeur Sanders has had an interesting training camp so far. He’s been splitting reps with veteran Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, and Sanders hasn’t exactly been leading the pack.
That said, it would be surprising if the Browns carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man active roster. With five quarterbacks competing, it likely means just three will make the active roster, while one might be placed on the practice squad as the fourth.
