For probably the first time, and maybe the last time, a fifth-round rookie making his NFL preseason debut was all anyone wanted to talk about on a Friday night. Even LeBron James had to check it out.
Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is not a normal rookie, and his first preseason snaps got plenty of attention. Sanders, a star at Colorado whose fall to the fifth round overshadowed the rest of the NFL Draft, got the start Friday night against the Carolina Panthers due to some injuries around him.
Advertisement
And he did pretty well.
Sanders was put in a tough situation but handled himself well. In the first half he completed 11 of 18 passes for 103 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 113.9 passer rating. Sanders remained in the game for the third quarter, and completed all three passes on another touchdown drive. Tyler Huntley came in after that. He went 3-of-5 for 35 yards in the second half.
All in all, Sanders finished 14 of 23 for 138 yards and the two scores.
“Thankful for the opportunity, I’m excited for it, I don’t feel like I took full advantage of the opportunity,” Sanders told Browns sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala. “It’s something to work on, something to learn from.
Advertisement
“I don’t feel like I was sharp at all, honestly. I think I was OK today. Next opportunity I get, I have to build on this one.”
Sanders had many short and safe passes, but also a few strong throws including one for his second touchdown late in the first half. He showed off some mobility and accuracy, and also made a few rookie mistakes. He looked comfortable for a player who hasn’t gotten an abundance of practice reps and was playing an NFL opponent for the first time.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]
Overall, it was a promising preseason debut for a rookie who has been fourth on the Browns’ depth chart.
Advertisement
Sanders threw two touchdowns before halftime and both were very nice plays in different ways. His first touchdown pass started the second quarter, as Sanders rolled left on a play-action bootleg play, waited for receiver Kaden Davis to get open and then feathered in a nice throw between defenders to Davis for the score.
The second touchdown pass was impressive. Sanders moved in the pocket, set his feet and threw a strong, accurate pass into the end zone — again to Davis. It was an impressive play for anyone, much less a rookie in his first action.
For those wanting to see how Sanders fit on an NFL field, that play showed he wasn’t out of place.
Sanders got the start unexpectedly, after Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel suffered hamstring injuries. The Browns know what 40-year-old Joe Flacco can do, so he was held out.
Advertisement
Sanders hadn’t had a snap with the starting offense in practice before it was reported that he’d be starting the first preseason game. He had been working as the fourth quarterback through the offseason and into camp.
Sanders’ first possession didn’t go too well. His first pass, on second down, was a little high but went off of veteran Diontae Johnson’s hands and fell incomplete. His third-down pass was an easy throw that was complete to Kaden Davis but barely short of the first-down marker. The Browns punted.
Running is not a huge part of Sanders’ game, but he got a first down on his second series by scrambling. Sanders went back to pass on third-and-9 and the Panthers failed to keep contain, so Sanders scrambled and ran 10 yards for the first down.
That kept the drive alive, and Sanders missed a shot on a nice gain when he rolled left and floated a pass to a wide-open Dylan Sampson way too far for an incompletion. It was a tough throw, but Sanders missed an opportunity. He threw to Jamari Thrash for 11 yards on third-and-12, the Browns went for it on fourth down, and Sanders was pressured and retreated a long way under pressure before unloading the ball incomplete. He probably would have been better off getting rid of the ball right away, but held it a bit too long.
Advertisement
Sanders heated up a bit in the second quarter as he settled in. Sanders’ first touchdown came after the Browns recovered a muffed punt deep in Panthers territory. Sanders rolled to his left, waited, found Davis in the back of the end zone and lofted a nice pass to him in traffic for the score. It showed nice patience, vision and touch.
Later in the quarter, Sanders finally pushed the ball downfield a bit on a third-and-8. From just inside his end zone, Sanders threw a nice pass to about the 25-yard line right before he was hit, and completed it to Gage Larvadain for 19 yards and a first down. It was a strong intermediate throw after Sanders had kept it short for most of the game up to that point.
Just before the two-minute warning of the first half, Sanders had his longest pass of the night. He was flushed from the pocket, rolled right and lofted a pass to receiver Luke Floriea, who made a nice one-handed grab for 30 yards.
Sanders finished that drive with the dart to Davis for his second touchdown, which was a good way for him to end a productive half.
Advertisement
While Sanders didn’t produce a ton of yards or have many long passes downfield, Flacco said that Sanders’ quick decision-making in the game was a plus.
“I think he’s doing a good job tonight,” Flacco said in a sideline interview on the Browns’ broadcast. “The thing I’m kind of happy he’s doing it he’s getting the ball out of his hands early in the down, he’s also been able to show he can move around a little bit, but I think when he has had to get the ball out of his hands he has done that.”
The Browns have two more preseason games, and it’s unclear which quarterbacks will be available to play in them. But after a good first outing, even more eyes will be on Sanders the rest of the preseason. If that’s possible.