Shedeur Sanders had a positive showing in his NFL preseason debut on Friday night, helping the Cleveland Browns to a 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers. Sanders threw for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns in the victory, making a handful of impressive throws throughout the night and giving folks like Mel Kiper Jr. a reason to puff out their chest a bit on Saturday morning.
After the game, Sanders expected a little more positivity from one member of the Cleveland Browns press corps.
Following his postgame press conference, Sanders caught up with ESPN Cleveland radio host Tony Grossi in the tunnel.
“Tony, I be hoping you have something positive to say about me,” Sanders told Grossi. “You only say negative stuff about me. And I’m like, ‘I ain’t do nothing to you.'”
Grossi’s response isn’t clear in the video, but Sanders follows back up by telling Grossi, “I ain’t hear nothing positive you’ve ever said.”
The interaction didn’t quite look like a “confrontation,” as some other outlets have referred to, though. Both Sanders and Grossi start laughing with each other at one point as Sanders places his hand on Grossi’s shoulder.
Grossi also revealed on a podcast episode earlier this week that Sanders came up to him “out of the clear blue” at practice recently and shook his hand. He said during that episode that he doesn’t have any problem with Sanders.
Sanders completed 14 of his 23 passes in the game. He added 4 carries for 19 yards. There were moments when Sanders avoided pressure in the pocket and still delivered accurate passes downfield. There were several occasions where he evaded rushers and picked up positive yardage with his legs — an area of his game that was criticized during the pre-draft process. He had a number of single-read throws where the ball came out quickly, but he also had multiple throws that were fired into tight windows with pinpoint accuracy.
Both of his touchdown passes were well-placed balls, but Sanders said after the game he didn’t think he played up to his standard. His coach shared a similar message.
“Pleased with Shedeur (Sanders), pleased with the offense,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Again, not perfect, plenty that we can work on. But I thought the guys did a really nice job with Shedeur and operating, the guys making plays, so, again, a ton to teach off of.”
Grossi, for what it’s worth, said on ESPN Cleveland’s postgame show he thought Sanders played “outstanding.”
But Grossi has been overly critical of Sanders since the Browns drafted him in the fifth round. He and another ESPN Cleveland radio host got into a heated exchange earlier this month over comments Grossi made about Sanders’s practice habits. Grossi said prior to Friday’s game that his issue is with “the false hysteria created … by everyone else.” He has been accused of having a bias against Sanders, something he has said is “ridiculous.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
