Rarely has a pre-season opening game created as much curiosity and anticipation as the one that will take place in Charlotte tonight. Especially one featuring a team that went 3-14 the previous year as the opponent.
But then again, not many have featured the presence of someone as attention-grabbing and polarizing as Shedeur Sanders. And thanks to a series of unfortunate events involving the glut of competitors he has for the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback role, he will actually start and get significant reps–something he wasn’t even assured of getting when training camp began.
Exactly how big a deal is this? None other than America’s leading powder keg igniter and potential Democratic presidential candidate is weighing in. Per COLORADO BUFFALOES ON SPORTS ILLUUSTRATED’s Cory Pappas:
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith gave his thoughts on Sanders getting the starting nod.
“I think he (Shedeur Sanders) is being set up to fail,” Smith said. “There’s been 11 practices if I remember correctly. He’s been playing against the third unit. He’s fourth on the depth chart and then suddenly you throw him into the starting lineup and he hasn’t had any reps with the first team at all.”
The Browns have a very crowded quarterback room with Sanders, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett, and Tyler Huntley. The Browns announced that both Gabriel and Pickett will be out against the Panthers with injuries, leaving the door open for Shedeur.
Stephen A. went on to say that he thinks the person behind Sanders being set up to fail could be the Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. He was very critical of Haslam and also cited his decision to pay Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed five-year contract, that has been a complete disaster. “So you just going to throw him to the wolves like that? If he had first team snaps in practice, I don’t say that,” Smith said. “I’m not accusing the coaches of doing this. I’m not accusing the GM of doing this. But that owner, Mr. Haslam, that’s a different animal right there.”
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS did its best to try and bring this back to what it really is–a pre-season opener:
“My expectation for Shedeur is no different than the rest of the guys,” (Browns Coach Kevin) Stefanski said prior to the team’s joint practice with the Panthers. “I just expect him to go out and operate. When you get in these preseason games you try to keep it very simple so guys can play very fast. It’s all concepts that these guys know and don’t have to think too much about.”
Stefanski was initially coy during his news conference when asked directly if Sanders would start, saying “we’re going to work through it. (Huntley) just got here yesterday and I want to see how he is doing with the terminology.”
And back in the land of the Dawg Pound itself, the spotlight might not be quite as bright, as ORANGE AND BROWN TALK PODCAST via the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER confirmed:
The fourth quarterback in a crowded room finally getting his moment in the spotlight seems like the perfect chance to shake up the depth chart. But appearances can be deceiving in the NFL preseason.
“Shedeur Sanders, it was more of the same (on Wednesday.) He worked with the backups, and I think they are viewing this start on Friday night as an opportunity to ‘Show us what you got, Shedeur.’ I mean, it is a prime opportunity for them to throw him into the fire and let him cook and see what he can do,” explained Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot.
That sounds promising on the surface. Yet Wednesday’s practice in Carolina told a different story — one that suggests the Browns aren’t planning a dramatic shift in their quarterback hierarchy regardless of what happens Friday night. Sanders continued working with backup offensive players, and most starters won’t even play in the game.
The real problem for Sanders? The Browns organization, under this regime, has established a clear pattern of valuing practice performance — particularly joint practice sessions — far more than preseason game results when evaluating players.
So maybe this isn’t gonna break records for viewership in Cleveland. Hey, the Guardians are very much in the thick of playoff contention and will be competing head-to-head. But nationally? Maybe a few more eyeballs for NFL Network. Which just happens to be Stephen A. Smith’s newest corporate cousin.
So yeah, it’ll be my primetime choice–to a point. Personally, my baseball team is too much of a challenge to watch these days, and besides, they start an hour later than does Shedeur. By the time baseball’s best team–the Milwaukee Brewers–take the field against the Mets Sanders’ night might actually be over. But for an otherwise lackluster night of sports overall, he’s about as Primetime as anyone else could want.
Courage…