There are many out there who believe Shedeur Sanders isn't being given a fair shake in the QB competition for the Cleveland Browns. Plenty also believe that Sanders has been set up for failure by starting Cleveland's preseason opener alongside second and third-stringers against the first string of the Carolina Panthers. Yours truly, included.
Former NFL QB turned analyst Dan Orlovsky disagrees with that narrative. On Thursday, he posted a video to his X account slamming those who believe that narrative. He makes a couple of decent points, first by asking: "Who do you want to start the game?"
Can this narrative stop? pic.twitter.com/0XwLyuDOnb
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) August 7, 2025
It's a fair question. The Browns are sitting their starters, which means veteran QB Joe Flacco isn't going to play. Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel are both nursing hamstring injuries, which has cost them both reps this week leading up to Friday's preseason opener. Cleveland was worried enough about its depth at QB due to injuries that they went out and signed Tyler Huntley earlier this week, who will serve as Sanders' backup against the Panthers.
Orlovsky is also correct that the situation was never going to be perfect for Sanders, a fifth-round pick, and that this game will give him the opportunity he wanted to show not just the Browns, but the whole world, what he can do.
Of course, Orlovsky is also ignoring everything else that points to the Browns not giving Sanders a fair shake, and potentially setting him up to derail his career before it can even get started.
Orlvosky ignores everything that has happened in Training Camp regarding Shedeur Sanders
By all accounts, Sanders has been impressive in Training Camp. Even if you don't want to go so far as to say he's outpaced the veterans in Flacco and Pickett, he has most certainly played better and looked more promising than Gabriel, the guy the Browns drafted two rounds before him.
In spite of that, Sanders still hasn't received first-team reps in practice, and was listed as the No. 4 QB on Cleveland's initial depth chart. It has been clear that he was never going to get an actual opportunity to compete for the starting job, no matter how well he played.
There's also the awkward interview from camp with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who appeared to distance himself from the Sanders draft pick as much as he could.
And the biggest issue isn't that Sanders is going to start on Friday; that's perfectly fine. It's just that he's being thrown out there with the second and third stringers against the starters for the Panthers. That will provide him a monumental task to find any success, and you don't have to squint to see the narrative that will pop up if he has a less-than-stellar preseason debut.
It's a lose-lose for the former Colorado star. If he performs well, the narrative will be that it's "just preseason." If he struggles, the narrative will shift that he's not a legitimate NFL QB. Sadly, it feels like the Browns are rooting for the latter.