After weeks of fans demanding that he start, they are finally getting what they want as Shedeur Sanders will finally be playing as the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. He will make his debut against the Las Vegas Raiders, though there has been a lot of concern about his debut, especially as he had barely practiced with the first team before QB1 Dillon Gabriel got a concussion.
During his ESPN show, “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith gave the rookie son of NFL legend Deion Sanders a stern warning, reminding him that a lot is riding on his performing well against the Raiders on Sunday.
“In terms of his future in Cleveland, it’s this Sunday. He cannot look like trash, he cannot go out there and complete 25% of his passes, he cannot look lost and completely discombobulated. We’re not gonna throw out excuses about him not having any reps with the first team,” said Smith.
.@stephenasmith believes this is a make-or-break start for Shedeur Sanders this weekend.
“As far as his future in Cleveland, it’s this Sunday. He cannot look like trash.” pic.twitter.com/8JziDhktpO
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 21, 2025
However, Smith added that he does not believe that Sanders was put in a position to succeed during the team’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, where Gabriel got concussed and Sanders played badly in what was his NFL debut.
Smith also talked about the division happening in the team, with the coaching staff and the ownership seemingly not looking eye-to-eye with one another, and added that this is making sure that Sanders is set up not to succeed in the NFL. He added that he believes that Sanders looked lost during his debut and that he believes his playing badly was “not an accident.”
Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski Admitted He Did Not Have Shedeur Sanders Play With 1st Team
Meanwhile, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has been facing allegations of mishandling Shedeur Sanders and being biased against him. After the loss to the Ravens, he admitted that Sanders played his first snaps with the first team this season during that game. As Smith noted, Sanders looked lost during that game.
When Dillon Gabriel was the backup QB, he got the chance to play some snaps with the first team, but that had not been the case for Sanders, as Stefanski explained that he wanted to make sure Gabriel felt confident in his QB1 role so he let him play all the snaps. This move was highly-criticized, as this set up Shedeur Sanders for failure due to his lack of practice and snaps.
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