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21 hours ago
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Talk about a great night for the Cleveland Browns.
The preseason opener is always an exciting time. It means football season is back.
And on Friday night in Carolina, the Browns' youngsters showed there is real reason for optimism in Cleveland despite a heck of a lot of doubts.
Shedeur Sanders took all the headlines of course, and for good reason. The highly hyped fifth-round quarterback was sharp and threw two touchdowns after getting the start.
But on the other side of the ball, Browns rookie Carson Schwesinger showed his promise in a role that might be the most important that any Cleveland rookie has Week 1, assuming a veteran gets the QB job.
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Schwesinger is the top dog at linebacker after Jordan Hicks' surprise retirement, coupled with Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah's already-known season-ending neck injury.
He was the first pick of the second round and is a tackling machine.
On Friday night, Schwesinger had six tackles in the first half.
The Browns pulled him out before they pulled Sanders, knowing Schwesinger will have many more important downs to play.
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That allowed the youngster rocking No. 49 to patrol the sidelines while letting his long blonde hair flow freely.
Browns fans will fall for Schwesinger quickly if he plays like this in the regular season.
He's certainly going to get the chance, because Cleveland doesn't have a ton of other options. And if the sample size of one half of football is enough to go on, Schwesinger looks ready.
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- Baker Mayfield isn't like other quarterbacks
- Jamal Adams is making a strong case for his position change
- Raiders fans blaming the same issue for Ashton Jeanty's poor start
- TreVeyon Henderson's first NFL touch went to the house
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