On Friday night Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was outstanding. The former Colorado Buffaloes star who inexplicably slipped to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft went (14-23) for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the Browns preseason opener win over the Carolina Panthers.
He’s already had his Kirk Cousins moment.
Sanders, who’s known for his resilience after having played and succeeded behind one of the worst offensive lines in college football at Colorado, blocked out all the noise. The strong-armed signal caller went out and displayed the many attributes that made him a very highly thought of draft prospect following four years at Jackson State and Colorado. Despite all of that, Sanders couldn’t escape the negativity of longtime Cleveland Brown beat reporter Tony Grossi, who was singing a different tune after Friday’s game
Shedeur Questions Grossi Who Quickly Changes Tune
Ever since the Browns the drafted Sanders, Grossi who’s been covering the team for nearly four decades hasn’t been to kind in his assessment of Coach Prime’s youngest son. During an interaction in the tunnel following Friday’s debut, Sanders asked him this respectfully.
“Tony, (I’m) hoping you’ve got something positive to say about me,” Sanders told Grossi in an awkward interaction between the two in preseason. “You always say negative stuff about me. And I’m like, I ain’t do nothing to you. I ain’t seen nothing positive that you’ve ever said.”
A seemingly flustered Grossi quickly responded with:
“I do something positive every day.”
He then took to his X account to rave about Shedeur’s performance, pretty much letting us know that what Shedeur said to him is highly plausible.
“My bottom line on Shedeur Sanders’ impressive debut: He put the pressure on QB2 Kenny Pickett and QB3 Dillon Gabriel to get healthy and perform next week,” Grossi wrote.
Sanders Shows Maturity By Downplaying Performance
The best thing Sanders did all night was not get too high following his performance. He also gave credit to the execution in every aspect to allow him to have so much individual success.
“Overall, I felt like I felt like me out there,” he said. “I couldn’t do it, of course, without the time. I couldn’t do it without the play call. I couldn’t do it without anything.”
“So, I’m just thankful to even be able to have the joy of just being on the field overall, then carrying the responsibility of doing the right thing,” Sanders added. “So, that’s two badges under my belt already that I got out there. I feel like we operated the huddle really, really good”
What’s To Like About Sanders?
Blessed with the athletic and mental genes of a legendary Hall of Famer (Deion Sanders), Shedeur also has his own set of strengths that make him such a talented quarterback. They include strong accuracy on short and intermediate throws, good ball placement, and functional mobility.
Furthermore, Sanders demonstrates impressive processing speed, excellent footwork in the pocket, and a high completion percentage.
He’s better than any quarterback on the Browns roster, and it’s only a matter of time before team brass are forced to play him on Sundays.
