Shedeur Sanders puts in an impressive performance on his NFL debut. What does the future hold for him with the Cleveland Browns?

If Cleveland Browns fans had turned off their TVs after the first drive of the new NFL season opener against the Carolina Panthers, their opinion of Shedeur Sanders would probably have been less than favorable. The opening drive was pretty lackluster, ending in a three-and-out.

But things changed – significantly. Sanders found his rhythm, made some good throws, showed precision and moved well.

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In the second quarter, he first threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Davis, then repeated the feat a little later, this time with a 12-yard touchdown pass.

Sanders finally capped off his evening in the third quarter when he orchestrated another successful drive that ended in a rushing touchdown by Gage Larvadain.

The signal caller completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards to his teammates and did not throw an interception.

“To be honest, I wasn’t nervous and I didn’t have too much adrenaline, I just felt comfortable,” he said after the game: “That’s all. There have been many games before where I was nervous, but I felt like I knew the answers to the questions.”

He added: “When you feel unprepared, you don’t feel ready for the moment. I know I’m ready for the moment. Did I perform well? No, I don’t think so. But overall, the main goal was to win, and to be honest, we achieved that.”

LeBron James full of praise

Cleveland defeated the Panthers 30-10. Alongside Sanders, recently signed Tyler Huntley also took to the field, impressing with six out of eight passes completed for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Sanders’ performance did not go unnoticed, even by a sports superstar. NBA pro LeBron James wrote on “X”: “That young man out there looks good.”

He continued: “And I don’t want to hear any of this ‘it’s just the preseason’ nonsense. Because if he was out there and couldn’t do anything, you’d be tearing him apart! So give him some credit and grace, you losers.”

Browns with unusual QB situation

But what does this impressive performance mean for the rookie? The Cleveland Browns find themselves in an unusual situation at the quarterback position. They currently have six playmakers on their roster.

Deshaun Watson is currently unavailable due to a torn Achilles tendon. The other rookie, Dillon Gabriel, and Kenny Pickett are nursing thigh injuries. The expected starter, Joe Flacco, was rested, so Sanders and Huntley were brought in.

Will the youngster, who was ranked so highly in the draft but then fell so far, now get more playing time?

More playing time for Shedeur Sanders?

Head coach Kevin Stefanski was satisfied with the performance after the game. However, he said it was too early to say whether Sanders would see more playing time in practice, let alone in games.

“I’m honestly not focused on that,” the head coach explained. “The guys have to continue to earn their roles.”

The athlete himself agreed: “I’m just thinking about going out there and doing what I have to do. Everything else is out of my hands, so why should I worry about it? The best thing you can do is perform when you get a chance.”

However, Sanders’ performance certainly did him no harm.