The Cleveland Browns kicked off their preseason on Friday with a resounding 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers that featured a few standout performances on both sides of the ball from younger players fighting to make the final 53-man roster.
Among the standout performances was one high-profile rookie quarterback who checked “three good boxes,” according to Colin Cowherd.
Shedeur Sanders started the game and threw for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no turnovers, which impressed a lot of fans and media pundits alike, including Cowherd.
“(Shedeur), like college, moves well (enough) and is very accurate while moving or stationary. So what we all saw — adequate size & mobility, while highly accurate. Three good boxes to check. Some young QBs can look overwhelmed or frenetic. He didn’t,” Cowherd posted on X.
Shaddur, like college, moves well (enough) and is very accurate while moving or stationary. So what we all saw — adequate size & mobility, while highly accurate. Three good boxes to check. Some young QBs can look overwhelmed or frenetic. He didn’t.
— Colin Cowherd (@colincowherd) August 9, 2025
There was a lot of silly public backlash that the Browns were setting Sanders up to fail by starting him, even though there weren’t many options with Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel working their way back from hamstring injuries and Joe Flacco being way too old for a Week 1 preseason game.
This was always a ridiculous take, as if Sanders was overwhelmed by facing third-stringers from one of the league’s worst defenses in the NFL, then there probably wasn’t a place for him in the NFL.
He did the opposite and proved the Browns right for giving him extended reps, and while it was just a preseason game against backups, it was great to see Sanders build some positive momentum that he can hopefully carry over through the rest of camp.
Cowherd was right – Sanders did not look overwhelmed in the slightest, and we’ll see if he can move his way up the depth chart after a performance like this.
NEXT: Joe Thomas Pushes Back On Shedeur Sanders Narrative
