It was quite the memorable evening for those rooting for Shedeur Sanders.
With veteran Joe Flacco taking a breather and a couple of other quarterbacks sidelined due to injuries, the Cleveland Browns’ newcomer found himself in the starting lineup for Friday’s exhibition game opener, despite beginning training camp as the fourth-string QB. His showing was promising, accumulating 138 passing yards and tossing two touchdowns while completing 14 of 23 attempts.
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His initial touchdown pass stood out, skillfully delivering the ball to Kaden Davis, capitalizing on a Carolina Panthers’ punt mishap.
Sanders arrived at training camp with an extraordinary level of buzz for a fifth-round selection. He earned the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year title at Colorado last year and was widely anticipated to be a first-round pick, but surprisingly slipped to the 144th spot overall. While there was subsequent chatter regarding his pre-draft interview demeanor, many felt his on-field capabilities justified a much earlier selection.
Among those was LeBron James, who started celebrating even before halftime.
Sanders’ father and former coach, Deion, also expressed his delight, as one might anticipate.
Numerous current and former players were also quick to acknowledge Sanders as a potentially capable NFL starter.
Additionally, certain media individuals were impressed by what they observed, though perhaps expressing their praise with slightly more restraint.
If there was a clear “loser” from the Browns’ perspective that night, it might have been Dillon Gabriel. The former Oregon quarterback was chosen two rounds prior to Sanders in the draft — a surprise in itself considering many scouts didn’t foresee starting potential for the 24-year-old — and held a higher position than Sanders on the depth chart entering the game.
That could change in light of Sanders’ performance on Friday and Gabriel’s struggles during training camp. Gabriel has also been hampered by a hamstring issue since the previous weekend, potentially requiring him to work harder to solidify his future in Cleveland.
Overreacting to preseason games is a well-established tradition in the NFL. Perhaps that’s what transpired on Friday, but Sanders entered the game needing to demonstrate the qualities of a possible starter, and he succeeded. It’s difficult to detract from that, especially given that he executed several throws that would have been at home among the league’s elite.
At the very least, Sanders has made the upcoming week of Browns training camp considerably more intriguing.
