Shedeur Sanders Got Warm Reception in First Preseason Appearance in Cleveland

Welcome to Cleveland, No. 12.

Shedeur Sanders made his first preseason appearance in Cleveland Saturday / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Shedeur Sanders trotted onto his home field for his first appearance at Huntington Bank Field Saturday in the Browns' final preseason game against the Rams. And the Dawg Pound was thrilled to see the fifth-round pick in for some action.

The former Colorado quarterback and No. 144 pick entered the dress rehearsal as Cleveland's third quarterback of the day, after starter Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. As the Browns public address announcer said over the stadium speakers that Sanders was in to start the second half, the home fans gave him a warm reception with some getting to their feet ahead of his first snap.

Shedeur Sanders comes into the game for the first time in Cleveland

Watch on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/5IEDFs0Fj4

— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2025

He missed last week's preseason game against the Eagles due to an oblique injury, but it wasn't serious enough to keep him out of the Browns' only home preseason contest. He started Cleveland's first exhibition against the Panthers, playing the entire first half and a handful of drives to begin the second. That was an impressive outing, as Sanders completed 14 of his 23 passing attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns to no interceptions, plus four rushes for 19 yards.

The team named Flacco their Week 1 starter earlier this week as Sanders (and Gabriel) were never in serious contention to take that job immediately. Cleveland has rostered as many as five quarterbacks over training camp, with veterans Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley in addition to Flacco and their rookie pair. Pickett is currently listed as Flacco's backup on the team's depth chart, with Gabriel and Sanders under him. General manager Andrew Berry recently indicated that he expects to roll with four quarterbacks (Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders), especially with how well the rookies performed over the preseason. NFL insider Mike Garafolo did note Cleveland could trade Pickett if "somebody blows them away with a trade offer," but that currently seems like an unlikely outcome.

Sanders is getting his last reps in before it counts and he heads back to the sideline. But it certainly seems that some members of the Dawg Pound would like to see more of him on the field.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed