Deion Sanders, media and fans share strong reactions to Shedeur Sanders’ Browns debut
Published:
Shedeur Sanders had a solid first preseason game with the Cleveland Browns to kickoff preseason action on Friday night.
Sanders exited the game with a final line of 138 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 pass attempts. He led Cleveland on multiple scoring drives before giving way to Tyler Huntley.
Sanders’ NFL prospects have been much-discussed since his draft-day free fall way back in the spring. After beginning the process as a potential top pick in the draft, Sanders slid all the way to the 5th round — and wasn’t even the first quarterback selected by the Browns in the 2025 draft.
Still, Sanders was given the opportunity to start and play for the majority of Cleveland’s preseason opener on Friday night. And although his stat line is relatively clean, fans and media were perhaps a bit overeager to proclaim Sanders’ draft slide as a mistake based on one preseason contest.
Sanders averaged just 6 yards per attempt, which is not a particularly-efficient number by NFL standards. Last season, NFL quarterbacks combined for 382 games with at least 20 pass attempts and 6 yards per attempt. Six yards per attempt would have also been tied for dead-last across a full season among QBs who threw for at least 250 passes during the 2024-25 season.
Sanders supporters preferred to focus on the 2 touchdowns, however. His father, Deion Sanders, and LeBron James were among those who shared strong reactions to his preseason debut:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
