Shedeur Sanders gets the start in first Browns 2025 preseason game

The Browns are set to open their preseason schedule on Friday in Carolina against the Panthers after they get two joint practices in on Wednesday and Thursday. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said some starters might not play, and quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett are likely out with hamstring injuries.

Multiple injuries to the quarterback position led to Cleveland reuniting with Tyler Huntley, though he's likely just a camp body. Mary Kay Cabot confirmed Flacco won't play in the preseason opener, and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders will instead lead the team's first drive of the 2025 preseason.

Shedeur Sanders to start Browns preseason opener on Friday

Although the exciting development would be that Sanders' start means he's taken the lead in the quarterback race, it's more just the only man healthy enough to take reps later this week, other than the 40-year-old Flacco. Nonetheless, it will be exciting to see Sanders get reps with a likely mix of first and second-teamers when the Browns play their first organized game of the 2025 schedule.

The fifth-round pick isn't the leader to start Week 1 of the regular season, and it remains a long shot that he will do enough during camp to earn that job. However, Pickett and Gabriel not getting reps at this moment does provide an opportunity for Sanders, as he's been given the chance to at least speed up his timeline a bit.

As is the case with most things Cleveland Browns related, Sanders' performance on Friday will spark a chain of overreactions, whether it be positive or negative. He's already one of the most popular fifth-round picks, and a strong performance is going to have fans clamoring for him to take over, even if it comes against suboptimal competition.

The first half of the Browns Panthers preseason game on Friday has immediately become must-see TV. Sanders was once thought to be a prospect worthy of going as high as the first round, and he will get his first chance to prove those evaluations right.