A window of opportunity opened wide for Shedeur Sanders when Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named him the team's starting quarterback for its preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Sanders took full advantage, completing 14 of his 23 pass attempts (60.9%) for 138 yards and two touchdowns — all without forcing a turnover.
His individual performance was so strong that USA Today's Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz declared Sanders one of the "winners" of the first weekend of NFL preseason action.
"Operating alongside other backups against the second-stringers for the NFL's worst scoring defense in 2024, Sanders still isn't a threat to burst from the back of the Browns' quarterback competition to the front as a potential Week 1 starter. But capitalizing on his most extensive action of the summer should be categorized as an unquestioned victory for the fifth-round signal-caller from Colorado, who flashed plenty of reminders of his accuracy, touch and overall command by leading three touchdown drives," Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote.
"Even though a starting spot any time early in the fall is likely out of reach, he has renewed relevance in the quarterback room and gave Cleveland strong incentive to keep giving him looks in both the rest of the summer and down the stretch of his rookie season."
More looks for Sanders means fewer looks for Dillon Gabriel, the rookie signal caller the Browns drafted out of Oregon with the 94th pick in this year's NFL Draft.
Gabriel and Sanders are both listed as "QB3" (along with Deshaun Watson, who is currently on injured reserve) on the Browns' unofficial depth chart. Sanders has gotten more practice reps in recent days, however, as Gabriel has been nursing a hamstring injury that kept him out of the team's first preseason game.
Gabriel saw some positive news on the injury front on Monday, though, as he returned to 11-on-11 activities in practice. His return to practice opens the door to potentially starting the Browns' next preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday — and, if it goes well, bolstering his candidacy for the sole possession of that "QB3" spot.