Shedeur Sanders either has a great opportunity in the Cleveland Browns preseason opener… or is being set up to fail. Depending on who you ask. But ESPN NFL Dan Orlovsky is convinced that it’s the former and not the latter.
The former Colorado quarterback was always going to be one of the most high-profile rookies in the 2025 NFL preseason. That only became more true after his incomprehensible NFL Draft slide saw him fall all the way to the fifth round where he was the second quarterback taken by the Browns.
But if Shedeur Sanders was hoping to land in a spot where he could actually compete for a starting job, Cleveland was the best place he could land. There are now four quarterbacks – Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Sanders – who are all competing for the job.
But whether Sanders has been given a fair crack at it is up for debate. His training camp reps haven’t been quite the same as the others. Former ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III has been beating the drum for most of the offseason that Cleveland is stacking the deck against Sanders. Louis Riddick echoed those concerns on ESPN on Wednesday, arguing that his limited number of practice reps will prepare him poorly for when he starts the Browns’ preseason opener.
Dan Orlovsky felt so compelled to address the conversation that he recorded a quick social media video to share his thoughts.
Can this narrative stop? pic.twitter.com/0XwLyuDOnb
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) August 7, 2025
“Will everybody stop with the Shedeur Sanders is being set up to fail narrative,” Orlovsky pleaded. “Who do you want to start the game? It’s preseason Week 1. First option, Joe Flacco. He’s played for like 20 years, he’s not going to start preseason Week 1. The next two options would be a Kenny Pickett or a Dillon Gabriel. Both are dealing with hamstring injuries, neither has practiced a ton recently. If they’ve done anything I believe it’s been 7-on-7. Who do you want to start the game? The next two options are Shedeur and Snoop Huntley. Shedeur has been there. Snoop Huntley just got there.”
“So while Shedeur may not have had reps with the ones, what else do you want them to do in Cleveland? It’s an opportunity for him, it may not be the ideal opportunity, very rarely is it for a fifth round pick. But it’s an oportunity for him to go out there and do in a game what many have reported he’s done in practice. Stop with the set up to fail narrative,” Orlovsky added.
It’s a fair point from Dan Orlovsky. Being a fifth round pick, nothing was going to be easy for Shedeur Sanders trying to make an impact or get ahead in the Browns quarterback race. But at least now he is going to get an opportunity, no matter how ideal it may be. And ultimately it will be up to him to perform in the preseason opener and show the Cleveland Browns and everyone else that he deserves more.