Shedeur Sanders just wants a chance.
The Cleveland Browns' rookie quarterback got that first opportunity in the preseason opener on Friday night, and he threw a pair of touchdowns while generally looking sharp, accurate and elusive.
The bigger moment still to come is the Browns' decision on who will start Week 1 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. There are still two preseason games and lots of practices still to go, and Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel will all want their say, too.
But it was Sanders who got the chance to make a first impression, and it was a good one.
Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot released a new story on Sunday that broke down Sanders' true chances of starting Week 1.
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Here's some of what Cabot had to say:
"The truth is, while the start was exciting and promising, Sanders is likely still a longshot to beat out Joe Flacco and win the starting job out of the gate," Cabot wrote. "Granted, he brought the juice and gave the Browns a much-needed spark, but he still has a long way to go before he can go head-to-head with Burrow in the opener and then venture into M&T Bank Stadium against the Ravens’ vaunted defense and play as fast as he’d need to."
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Cabot has broken down over the past couple days all that Sanders has done well. It's just a high bar to go from fourth-string QB to Week 1 starter over a 40-year old who has seen it all and can still spin it the way Flacco can.
"His college accuracy — he led the FBS in 2024 with a 74% completion percentage — was on full display, as was his keen sense of touch," Cabot wrote of Sanders. "That should translate to plenty of NFL touchdown passes once he’s ready for the pro game. But Sanders still needs more time on task before he can handle exotic pro blitzes and the likes of Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson or Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt screaming off the edge."
That might not be what Sanders' biggest supporters want to hear, but there's time. He has shown what he can do so far. If he keeps seizing opportunities, bigger ones will eventually come his way.
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