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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw two touchdown passes in his first NFL preseason game Friday night, shocking many fans after an unsteady start to his NFL career.
Sanders’ performance even caught the attention of NBA star LeBron James.
“That young (man) looking good out there,” James wrote. “Keep going UP!!! HEAD down on the grind and HEAD high to the most high.”
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders warms up at the team’s training camp July 25, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Richard)
James later added another post, “And I don’t wanna hear that “It’s only preseason” bs. Cause if he was out there not going in y’all would be on his (butt) about it! So give credit and grace lames.”
Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders, celebrated his son’s successful first preseason game in multiple posts on X.
“Yes Lawd! Yes @ShedeurSanders,” Deion posted on X after the first touchdown.
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After the second touchdown, the elder Sanders posted “oh yeah what now!” and “God is so good!”
The rookie got the start for the Browns’ first preseason game due to injuries to quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel despite a tumultuous first few months as a pro.
Sanders fell to the 144th pick in the NFL Draft this spring after scouts raised character concerns. He was previously considered a contender for the first overall pick but slipped past the first four rounds in one of the most shocking draft slides in NFL history, prompting confusion and debate by many NFL fans.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders talks to the media during rookie minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus May 10, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam even suggested while speaking to reporters last month that the team had no intention of drafting Sanders after the controversial quarterback shockingly fell out of the third round April 25.
“If you had told me Friday night [Day 2 of the NFL Draft], driving home, ‘Y’all are gonna pick Shedeur,’ I would have said, ‘That’s not happening,’” Haslam said Tuesday. “But we had a conversation early that morning [Day 3], and we had a conversation later that day, and we had the right people involved in that conversation.”
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Sanders’ time with the Browns has already involved controversy after he was twice cited for speeding.
Sanders was first ticketed for allegedly driving 91 mph in a 65 mph zone. Two weeks later, he allegedly hit 101 mph in a 60 mph zone and failed to appear in court.
The rookie quarterback addressed those traffic tickets while appearing at teammate David Njoku’s charity softball game last month.
“I made some wrong choices personally, and I can own up to them,” Sanders said. “I made some, you know, not great choices … I learned.”
Browns general manager Andrew Berry criticized Sanders for the incidents last month.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns before a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
“Not smart. Just not smart,” Berry told reporters this week about the tickets. “It’s something that we’ve addressed with him. Look, he understands the implications. He understands the consequences. It’s not just about yourself. It’s not just about having a joyride, but that you could injure other people. … A deer or something cuts in front of you, your reaction time, it’s just dangerous.”
After his impressive preseason debut, Sanders is the talk of the league.
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