Love him or hate him, Shedeur Sanders has been moving the needle since he took the heroic leap and assumed the signal calling duties at unheralded HBCU Jackson State and put on a show for a national audience each week as ESPN was smart enough to air all of his games. Then he went to Colorado and had the same effect. Transformed the culture on the field, while his Dad, Coach Prime, handled business on the field and in the boardroom.
More Than 2.2M Viewers Watched Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Preseason Debut: Most In 10 Years For NFL Network
Reports say 2.237M people tuned into Shedeur Sanders’ pre-season debut, NFL Network’s most watched preseason game since 2015. The Shadow League predicted that Shedeur’s debut would probably break records. The intrigue further proves that Shedeur is already one of the NFL’s biggest stars and continuing to try and treat him like a rookie who is desperate just to make an NFL roster is disingenuous and continues to reek of collusion in some form.
Another Minor Setback For Shedeur Sanders
The media frenzy, the Travis Hunter drama, his Dad’s cancer battle and other surgeries, constant criticism and anonymous character assassination attempts, the draft day debacle, the cruel prank by an executive’s snot-nosed college kid, the constant doubt and being labeled as “selfish” “privileged” and “cocky.” The further humiliation of being placed fourth on the depth chart in a quarterback room full of maybes.
Shedeur has overcome it all so far, as his NFL preseason debut was impressive. Now he’s had a minor setback for another major comeback as he suffered an oblique injury early in the Browns’ joint practice with the Eagles and is considered unlikely to play in Saturday’s Week 2 preseason game. Sanders was just starting to get more practice reps, according to coach Kevin Stefanski, even though the depth chart said otherwise.
Cleveland’s cramped quarterback room includes veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, rookies Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, along with recent veteran addition Tyler Huntley. Then there’s also DeShaun Watson, the $230M question mark.
NFL Fans React To News Of Shedeur’s Oblique Injury
Some responses seemed smug and almost glad that Shedeur will not be hogging up the spotlight.
“Sad, won’t be playing on Sat against the Eagles due to injury. 2.2 millions fans disappointed. MVP run may be in jeopardy?,” one fan said sarcastically.
“You have to be getting paid to pump up this guy. Every other post of yours is talking like this guy should be put in the Hall of Fame, already. Jeeeessss!,” said another fan while attacking the person who made the post highlighting Shedeur’s quick rise to NFL stardom.
Those who have been captivated by the journey of the Cleveland Browns quarterback and the reported $250M in jersey sales he’s generated for the league as a fifth round pick, listed in the bottom half of the depth chart, had opinions too.
“If you hate on Shedeur, you probably hate on Angel Reese, Lamar Jackson, Etc,” said one fan, suggesting that any hate towards Shedeur is more than just criticisms of his game.
“The Browns will find away to mess up a good thing,” said another fan, expecting the team to fumble its QB situation, or get everybody hurt.
“Making history before his rookie season even starts,” exclaimed one supportive fan.
“Wow this is historic,” said another referencing the ratings Shedeur’s debut produced.
Mel Kiper, Among Others, Flipped Out About Shedeur NFL Draft Drop
This entire situation with Shedeur was never right from the beginning. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper was the most vocal about the draft day sham that saw Shedeur (a QB that analysts across the board had as a Top 15 talent) drop to the fifth round. “He is going to be a hell of a quarterback in this league,” Kiper said at the beginning of the second day of the 2025 NFL Draft. “And he will cause a lot of anguish and sleepless nights for the team who passed on him.”
Many Eyes Will Be Watching Dillon Gabriel In His Preseason Debut: Is He Two Rounds Better Than Shedeur?
The more adversity Shedeur overcomes, the more popular he will become, especially with fringe fans who want to know what all the noise about Deion Sanders’ son is. Why is he being judged by a different standard than any other person? If they want to see Shedeur live, they will have to wait until he heals up. In the meantime, his teammates will benefit from his ability to draw ratings and eyeballs. When Dillon Gabriel makes his preseason debut, people will watch to see if the kid from Oregon who was drafted two rounds prior to Shedeur is really the goods. If he’s not, this is just another layer to the saga surrounding Sanders’ treatment by NFL teams.
