The Cleveland Browns unofficially kicked off their 2025 campaign on Friday night. Honestly, there weren't that many interesting storylines in this one. I kid, of course, as pretty much the entire football world tuned into this one to watch Shedeur Sanders start for the Browns. The fifth-round pick was listed as QB4 on the Browns first depth chart of the season
QB Shedeur Sanders: B+
It wasn't perfect for Sanders on Friday night; he took a few sacks, held the ball too long a few times and missed a couple of routine throws to his receivers.
But all in all, this was about as good as Browns fans could have hoped he looked in his first NFL action. Sanders finished the night 14/23 for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. He played with mostly backups against mostly starters for Carolina, and more than held his own. He looked patient and composed, and his best throw of the night was likely his first touchdown pass, which barely snuck through a window into the hands of Kaden Davis, who actually caught both of Sanders' touchdown tosses.
Did he look like Josh Allen out there? Not quite. But he sure as hell didn't look like a fourth-string quarterback, either, even though that's technically what he is right now.
I have a gut feeling he doesn't stay QB4 with the Browns an awful lot longer.
LB Carson Schwesinger: A
Far the most discussed Browns rookie but one of the most important regardless, linebacker Carson Schwesinger only played two series' on Friday but was pretty phenomenal in limited action. His instincts looked great, he was getting into the backfield and he looked like he knew where to be on every play. Impressive stuff from the rookie out of UCLA.
DT Mason Graham: B
It's gotta be a good sign when a rookie gets double-teamed in his first NFL game ever, right? That's what happened to Graham on Friday; he didn't impact the game much because he didn't really have any chance to. I suppose being double-teamed is impacting the game enough by itself.
Dylan Sampson: D
It was a bit of a disappointing debut for Dylan Sampson, the rookie running back who many think is in line for a bigger role in the backfield with Quinshon Judkins' status currently up in the air due to being arrested on domestic violence and battery charges.
But Sampson was used sparingly on Friday, recording just two carries for six yards, while Ahmani Marshall got the bulk of the carries in the first half. Of course, one preseason game doesn't change the future outlook for Sampson, which is still very bright, but hopefully he gets some more action as the preseason progresses.