Shedeur Sanders Will Start Cleveland Browns First Preseason Game

The NFL comes at players very fast, as rookie Shedeur Sanders can now attest on the heels of learning he's starting the preseason opener Friday for the Cleveland Browns.

Sanders will start and is expected to play at least the first half and probably longer against the Carolina Panthers, a league source confirmed to OutKick. Cleveland.com was first to report the news.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.

And that is almost stunning news considering Sanders, the club's fifth-round draft pick and son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, only days ago was seeing limited repetitions in team drills and none with the starting unit.

It got to the point Sanders told his father not to attend Browns practices in part because he (Shedeur) wouldn't be allowed to show much and when his father first saw him on an NFL field, he wanted Deion to see a player that had a major opportunity to shine.

Well, here's the opportunity.

And the reason the opportunity is coming is that the Browns are in an odd situation at quarterback.

Presumed starter Joe Flacco isn't going to start the first preseason game because, well, the guy is 40 years old, and he needs to play the first preseason game like he needs to breakdance for a living – that is to say, not at all.

Then things get dicey behind Flacco.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) throws as quarterback Joe Flacco (15) looks on during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.

Kenny Pickett And Dillon Gabriel Injured

Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett has been nursing a hamstring injury that has cost him a week of practice. Pickett has designs on competing for the starting job, but coaches have obviously decided he's not quite ready to play.

"I'm trying to get back out there, you know, as fast as possible," Pickett said over the weekend. "I've never had, you know, a soft tissue injury like this, so really a first-time experience in my career, I felt like I came in great shape, was hitting numbers speed wise that I've never hit before. 

"So, it's frustrating that it happened, but you know, turn the page and just trying to be, you know, as good as I can be when I do return."

Third-string quarterback Dillon Gabriel, selected in the fourth round of the April draft one round before Sanders, is similarly nursing a hamstring injury.

He had not practiced since July 26.

Gabriel, as most rookies do, has suffered from significant inconsistency during camp, and so he has work to do even when he gets healthy.

Browns Add Snoop Huntley

The Browns are so thin at quarterback they announced the signing of Tyler "Snoop" Huntley on Tuesday.

Huntley was a logical addition because he spent training camp with the team last season before being released. So he knows most of the playbook.

And that means there is a chance he also plays against the Panthers.

But, make no mistake, all eyes will be on Sanders. That's because his story was national news last April when he went from being a projected first-round selection to sinking all the way into the fifth round.

There was wall-to-wall coverage of Sanders as he continued to wait until the Browns selected him on the draft's third day, ending the drama.

Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders works with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees during rookie minicamp May 9, 2025, in Berea.

Shedeur Sanders A Drama Magnet

Part of that drama included Sanders getting a prank call saying he wouldn't be drafted, a result of his phone number being leaked to the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who got in a good bit of trouble after an NFL investigation.

End of drama, right?

Nope.

Sanders was cited in June for driving 101 MPH in a 60 MPH zone. He's lucky he didn't go straight to jail.

Sanders is an attention magnet and him getting the starting assignment in his first NFL preseason game is surely not going to stop that.

Wonder if there will be stories written about how he performs?