Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders seized his first professional opportunity on 8 Aug., guiding the Cleveland Browns to a 30-10 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Pressed into the starting role because of injuries to Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, the fifth-round pick completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards, threw two touchdown strikes to receiver Kaden Davis and rushed four times for 19 yards before exiting midway through the third quarter. Head coach Kevin Stefanski praised Sanders’ poise but declined to alter the club’s quarterback hierarchy. An updated unofficial depth chart released on 11 Aug. still lists veteran Joe Flacco first, followed by Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders. Stefanski said he would reassess playing rotations later in the week ahead of Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, adding that ‘roles have to be earned.’ Sanders’ strong debut has intensified scrutiny around Cleveland’s quarterback competition and the media narratives that accompany it. After the game, the 23-year-old confronted long-time Browns reporter Tony Grossi in a light-hearted exchange captured on video, telling him, ‘You only say negative stuff about me. I ain’t do nothing to you.’ The incident underscored the heightened attention surrounding a player whose first NFL snaps have already reshaped discussion of the Browns’ 2025 season.