While the Cleveland Browns were pretty pleased with the performance of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders on Friday night, there has been some chatter about him being set up to fail.
The Browns gave Sanders the start because he’s in the middle of a quarterback battle. In addition to Sanders, Cleveland has Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Tyler Huntley in the quarterback room. Analysts said heading into the Browns’ NFL preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers that Sanders just wasn’t getting a fair shake.
One Browns insider, though, is coming out and pouring cold water on that hot take.
What Does Browns Insider Say About Shedeur Sanders?
Sanders threw two touchdown passes and led three scoring drives for the Browns against the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Friday night. But Sanders didn’t get any first-team reps leading up to the preseason opener. In fact, there was a video shared across social media of Sanders throwing passes to Browns’ equipment personnel.
Also, some Browns observers have said Sanders only got the start because Gabriel and Pickett were hurt. So, NFL Network analyst and former Browns player Joe Thomas headed out to X and shared some information about Sanders. In his post, Thomas referenced an article written by Mary Kay Cabot, Browns beat writer for Cleveland.com.
For everyone pushing the “Browns are setting @ShedeurSanders up to fail” nonsense — read @MaryKayCabot.
He’s learning a brand-new offense, mastering NFL pre-snap reads, and the staff is clearly invested in his development.
Sometimes “sabotage” is just you closing your eyes to… pic.twitter.com/G77OaUC586
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) August 9, 2025
“For everyone pushing the ‘Browns are setting @ShedeurSanders up to fail’ nonsense – read @MaryKayCabot,” Thomas wrote. “He’s learning a brand-new offense, mastering NFL pre-snap reads, and the staff is clearly invested in his development. Sometimes ‘sabotage’ is just you closing your eyes to facts because the truth doesn’t fit your desired narrative.”
According to Cabot’s work, there are some focused reasons behind Sanders’ lack of first-team reps.
What Has Kept Sanders From Getting First-Team Reps?
In her piece for Cleveland.com, Cabot wrote, “So why hasn’t he gotten any first-team reps? Because he’s had to get up to speed in all aspects of the pre-snap process, including replaying plays in the huddle, identifying the defense, sliding the protections, directing the motions and making adjustments.”
Cabot also offered some perspective around Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski carefully observing Sanders’ progress in training camp.
“During some of those times, Stefanski stood directly behind Sanders, listening to him calling the play, and gauging his vision,” Cabot wrote. “It’s rare in camp for a head coach to spend so much time with the fourth-string quarterback, but the Browns have felt from the jump that Sanders was worth developing.”
For his part, Sanders appeared pleased with his efforts on Friday night. Yet he also knew that he could bring lessons learned while playing at Colorado for his father, Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, into the NFL.
Against the Panthers, Sanders was 14-for-23 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Sanders completed the game with a 60.9 completion percentage and a quarterback rating of 106.8.
