On Wednesday morning, just before joint practice with the Carolina Panthers, Kevin Stefanski confirmed that the Cleveland Browns would have just Shedeur Sanders and Tyler Huntley available at quarterback on Friday night in the first preseason game. Remember, Huntley was with the team last season, but hasn't had a full day of practice with the team since officially signing yesterday.
Stefanski also shared that Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy will not play and was quoted by Mary Kay Cabot that “by and large” the Browns were going to rest their starters on Friday night vs. the Panthers.
#Browns Kevin Stefanski said “by and large” we’re going to rest our starters Friday night vs #Panthers. Shedeur will work with some 2s and 3s vs #Panthers starters.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 6, 2025
Why make this mistake again? The Browns have gotten off to horrible starts, and in a year when many key pieces of the offense are new, this unit needs reps against first-team units to be prepared for week 1 of the regular season.
Already this preseason, the Panthers and Bengals head coaches have announced that starters, including Bryce Young and Joe Burrow, will get multiple series in the first preseason games for the exact reason above.
Maybe we will see a lot more Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett with the first team offense in weeks to come, but at this point it doesn’t feel like we will see a ton other than some joint practice drills.