Shedeur Sanders came out firing in his NFL preseason debut Friday. He started for the Browns as they traveled to play the Panthers and tossed two touchdowns in the first half.
On the night, he threw for 138 yards with the two scores to zero interceptions while adding 19 rushing yards on four carries. He played the complete first half and got three drives to start the second half before his night ended when Tyler Huntley entered the game in the second quarter.
After the impressive showing ended, Sanders was asked to evaluate his performance and whether he thought it may help him move up Cleveland's crowded depth chart at quarterback. He didn't seem as impressed with his own performance as everyone else was.
"I honestly don't know, and I don't really care," Sanders said on his standing in the depth chart via NFL Network. "Whenever it's my turn, I just got to take advantage of it. I feel like today I did some good, some bad. And I know moving forward, I won't make the same mistakes twice.
"That's not in my control and regardless of whatever the situation is, that's not up to me, and it is what it is. I just got to accept whatever everything comes with."
His father, Deion, was pumped up watching the game as he posted his excitement on X. Even though his dad was pleased, Shedeur felt the need to apologize to his Pro Football Hall of Fame dad.
"Sorry pops," he said on the sideline. "I didn't do what I was supposed to do fully. But, you know, we'll live to see another opportunity."
"Sorry pops, I didn't do what I was supposed to do fully."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 9, 2025
— Shedeur Sanders with a message to Deion after his preseason debut 👀
(📺 NFL Network) pic.twitter.com/a0iiydRWvJ
The good outshined the bad for Sanders on Friday, but that's not to say the performance was perfect. In the first quarter, he took pressure from the Panthers defense on fourth down that he wasn't able to break, which resulted in a turnover on downs. A similar situation happened on a third-down play where he scrambled to avoid pressure. He wasn't sacked, but he was forced to run out of bounds for a short loss on the play and a fourth down. Avoiding the sack was impressive in its own right, though.
The Browns took Sanders with the No. 144 pick in the fifth round after a drastic slide in April's NFL draft. He hasn't been considered a candidate to become Cleveland's starting QB in the crowded room with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel. But if he continues to show out over the preseason, he'll certainly help plead his case in the group.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shedeur Sanders Had a Surprising Reaction to Strong Showing in First Game.
