It’s a milestone moment in Cleveland as Shedeur Sanders gears up for his highly anticipated first NFL start, and legendary Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was on hand to share it. The father-son duo shared a heartfelt moment at Allegiant Stadium ahead of kickoff, as the Browns face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
Shedeur Sanders Makes First NFL Start With Dad Deion Sanders in Attendance
Sanders saw his first NFL action in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel was sidelined with a concussion. While he struggled in relief, the Browns trusted him to take the reins as the starter in Week 12, and Deion made the trip to Las Vegas to support his son.
Deion shared a hug with Shedeur before kickoff and later watched from a suite as the broadcast showed him reacting to his son’s first drive, which ended in a three-and-out.
a special moment with Dad before his first pregame speech@shedeursanders | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/asBUHGwtCs
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 23, 2025
Deion had considered attending last week’s game but opted against it.
“You don’t want to be his distraction,” he said to reporters last week. “But then you think, you know he came all the way up here to see you? So that’s even a shorter trip to go see him. You start thinking that as a dad.”
While Deion’s Colorado team is struggling in the Big 12, dropping their fourth straight game on Saturday to fall to 3–8, he remains proud of his son’s perseverance and work ethic.
“I know the fight behind the fight,” Deion Sanders said last week. “I know what’s been transpiring behind the curtains, and I’m just proud of him. Because he’s not just saying the right things, he’s doing and living the right things. That’s just who he is. He’s a Sanders.”
Sanders hadn’t taken any first-team reps leading to last week’s game, but is well prepared for Week 12, and has a chance to create history.
No Browns rookie quarterback has won his first start since 1995, with the group going 0–17 over the past three decades. Quarterbacks drafted in the fifth round or later have also fared poorly in their first starts: since the merger, those passers have gone 19–36–1, averaging 51.1% completions, 135.4 passing yards, and a 54.2 passer rating on average.
Facing a Raiders defense ranked 26th in PFSN’s Defense Impact metric, Sanders has one of the better chances to buck the trend. The Browns started strong, leading 14–0 at the end of the first quarter, setting the tone for what could be a historic debut.
