Shedeur Sanders is set to start the first Cleveland Browns preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Friday, despite currently sitting fourth on the depth chart throughout training camp thus far.
Cleveland has been working through a four-man quarterback competition between Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett, and Joe Flacco, yet with Pickett and Gabriel working through hamstring injuries, Sanders is being pushed into a starting role to open the preseason.
Stephen A. Smith said on First Take that the Browns are setting Sanders up to fail by the way they are handling this situation.
“I think [Shedeur Sanders] is being set up to fail. There’s been 11 practices, if I remember correctly. He’s been playing against the third unit. He’s fourth on the depth chart, and then suddenly you throw him into the starting lineup? And he hasn’t had reps with the first-team at all. Think about that. You’re just going to throw him to the wolves like that, huh? It’s like you want him to fail,” Smith said.
"I think [Shedeur Sanders] is being set up to fail."
—@stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/gU32q1s2Cw
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 7, 2025
Gabriel and Pickett can’t play, and Joe Flacco is 40 years old, so who exactly do people think should be starting in this game if not Sanders?
It’s a perfect opportunity for him to get more reps, especially against a defense that was arguably the worst in the NFL last season.
As Brady Quinn said, a preseason game isn’t that big of a deal and isn’t going to cause this coaching staff to turn on Sanders or throw him under the bus if he has a bad performance.
All it is is a chance for him to get some much-needed reps, and if an early preseason game is all it takes to break Sanders, then he likely was never the kind of prospect that many people wanted him to be in the first place.
He’ll be fine, and Browns fans should be excited about him getting a chance to show what he is capable of.
NEXT: Details Emerge About Panthers' Plan Against Shedeur Sanders