Browns make Shedeur Sanders starting QB decision ahead of preseason opener

Shedeur Sanders is starting.

Seriously.

The Cleveland Browns rookie, the fifth-round pick out of the University of Colorado, will start Cleveland's preseason opener on Friday in Carolina.

Cleveland didn't have a ton of choice, according to beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot, who broke the news Tuesday afternoon.

Cabot writes that both Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel are "nursing hamstring injuries."

With the regular season still a month away, it's logical for the Browns to be careful with their injured QBs. And there's no reason for 40-year old Joe Flacco to play in the preseason opener.

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That leaves Sanders as the last man standing from the original 4-QB competition, at least for the first preseason game.

This does explain why the Browns signed Tyler Huntley. The veteran quarterback will likely have to see the field against the Panthers by default.

All eyes will be on Sanders, though. He would've been hyped no matter when he was drafted, but then his slide to No. 144 overall has made the whole situation that much more intriguing.

Sanders has completed a high percentage of his passes in training camp, a solid sign that his 74% completion rate in his final season at Colorado wasn't a fluke.

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It'll be a whole different animal in an NFL game, even a preseason one.

Sanders has shared his mindset on a number of occasions throughout camp when speaking with the media, and it appears he has the right approach. He knows he has to prove himself, and that nothing will be handed to him.

On Friday, though, it's a huge opportunity that has fallen into Sanders' lap. It'll be up to him to seize it and prove that he belongs as an NFL quarterback.

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