Welcome to the Shedeur Sanders present.
The primary full week of the NFL preseason will function 16 video games and one of the vital intriguing ones will likely be occurring in Charlotte on Friday the place the Carolina Panthers will likely be internet hosting the Cleveland Browns.
An enormous cause this sport is so intriguing is as a result of it can mark the NFL debut of Sanders, who famously dropped all the best way right down to the fifth spherical of the 2025 NFL Draft earlier than the Browns swooped in to take him with the 144th overall pick.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed this week that Sanders will likely be getting the beginning for Cleveland.
With the beginning of the common season lower than a month away, the Browns nonetheless do not know who their beginning quarterback goes to be in Week 1. Sanders is at present in a four-way QB battle with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel. An enormous cause Sanders is beginning is as a result of nobody else is on the market. Pickett (hamstring) and Gabriel (hamstring) have each been coping with accidents and the Browns did not need to ship the 40-year-old Flacco out on to the sphere.
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What this all means is that Sanders, who’s at present listed because the fourth QB on the depth chart, could have an opportunity to take an enormous step ahead within the Browns’ quarterback competitors.
This is how one can watch Friday’s sport.
The place to look at and stream
- Date: Friday, August 8
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Financial institution of America Stadium (Charlotte)
- TV: NFL Community | Stream: Fubo (Begin watching, save $20!)
Sanders is predicted to play roughly 50 snaps, according to Stefanski. That is a excessive variety of snaps for a preseason starter, however the cause Sanders will likely be seeing a lot enjoying is as a result of the Browns are solely planning to play two quarterbacks. There’s Sanders after which there’s Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, who was actually just signed on Tuesday.
“Shedeur and Snoop would be the quarterbacks who’re enjoying on this sport,” Stefanski said this week. “We’ll get Snoop again on top of things shortly. He is been in a few totally different offenses since we final noticed him, so, he is doing an important job of working at it.”
Sanders had a particularly profitable faculty profession at Colorado that noticed him throw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns throughout his remaining season in 2024. Though Sanders was stable in faculty, he hasn’t fairly made his mark with the Browns but. Throughout OTAs and obligatory minicamp, Sanders did not get any reps with the primary group offense. Because the begin of coaching camp, he has really gotten just a few first group reps, however nothing substantial.
The sport towards the Panthers will give him an opportunity to make a press release within the QB competitors.
“He is excited,” Stefanski said of Sanders. “And he knew he was going to play an excellent bit in these preseason video games. The competitor in him could be very excited.”
Sanders has made some stable throws in coaching camp and now, we’ll see if that interprets right into a sport scenario.
The Browns will not have many starters enjoying towards the Panthers, so Sanders will likely be throwing to second- and third-team guys, but when he performs properly, it may give Stefanski one thing to consider going ahead.
The deck will definitely be stacked towards Sanders on Friday evening: The Browns will not have many starters enjoying towards the Panthers, so Sanders will likely be throwing to second- and third-team guys and he’ll be going up towards a Carolina protection that WILL be playing it starters. If Sanders performs properly, it may give Stefanski one thing to consider going ahead. It is sink or swim time for Sanders, who has a severe likelihood to show that he has what it takes to be a beginning QB within the NFL.