Shedeur Sanders threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the Cleveland Browns’ 30-10 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night. The Colorado quarterback completed 14 of 23 passes in his NFL debut.
Sanders’ performance comes as starting quarterback Kenny Pickett deals with a hamstring injury that may be more serious than initially reported.
Spencer German from 92.3 The Fan noted a difference in reporting between NFL Network analyst Joe Thomas and consensus reports from joint practices with Carolina this week.
Thomas, who maintains close ties with the Browns organization, expects Pickett to miss “a couple more weeks.”
The extended timeline could create opportunities for Sanders to earn more practice reps with Cleveland’s first-team offense during joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
USA Today’s Jacob Camenker identified Pickett as a potential “loser” following Sanders’ debut performance.
“Pickett was expected to battle Flacco for Cleveland’s starting job. He may find himself wondering how secure his roster spot may be after Sanders’ performance,” Camenker wrote.
The Browns entered camp expecting Pickett to compete with Joe Flacco for the starting position.
Flacco, 40, signed a one-year deal with Cleveland after leading the team to the playoffs last season. The veteran completed 60.3% of his passes for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns in four regular season starts.
“The Browns may prefer to keep four quarterbacks on their active roster. After all, Flacco is 40 and may not play much longer, so having a trio of young passers could benefit the team,” Camenker added.
Sanders’ 138-yard performance marked the second-highest passing total by a Browns quarterback in Friday’s win.
The former Colorado star completed passes to six different receivers and avoided turnovers in his first NFL action. Sanders also showed mobility in the pocket, escaping pressure on several plays.
“But if not, could Pickett be the odd man out? He was initially viewed as the top competition for Flacco, but with Sanders performing well in the preseason and Pickett missing time due a hamstring injury, the gap between the two could be closing.”
Cleveland acquired Pickett from Pittsburgh in March, expecting him to compete for the starting role immediately.
The 26-year-old quarterback started 24 games over three seasons with the Steelers. Pickett completed 62.4% of his passes for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during his Pittsburgh tenure.
Sanders’ preseason debut creates additional competition in Cleveland’s quarterback room as Pickett’s injury timeline extends beyond initial expectations.
