When is Shedeur Sanders' first game? Browns season opener time, date, tickets & more

Will Shedeur Sanders be the Cleveland Browns starter in Week 1? 

Cleveland must sort out a wide-open quarterback race first. Sanders — who slid to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft – is one of the quarterbacks in that mix along with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

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Sanders played four years of college football between stints at Jackson State and Colorado. He was 36-14 as a starter with 14,327 yards, 134 TDs and 27 interceptions. 

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The NFL released the schedule for the 2025 season, and Cleveland will face a familiar opponent in Week 1. 

Browns Week 1 opponent for 2025 NFL season 

Cleveland will open with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. It is a home game for the  Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium and will be at 1 p.m. ET. The Bengals swept the season series against Cleveland last season. The Browns did beat the Bengals 24-3 in the Week 1 opener of the 2023 season. 

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Will Shedeur Sanders start for the Cleveland Browns? 

Sanders' draft-day slide was a surprise for the Browns, who grabbed Gabriel with the No. 94 pick in the third round. Sanders had an impressive start at Browns rookie minicamp along with Gabriel. 

"They never envisioned this scenario – where they would get Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders,” Cleveland Browns color analyst Nathan Zegura told SN. “Now, that's happened. You guys have four guys. I don't think you are going to carry four on the roster. I think it is a competition to find somebody that can be the answer now in the future." 

Now, the question becomes whether Sanders or Gabriel can push Pickett or Flacco for the starting job in Week 1. Deshaun Watson – who is on the fourth year of a five-year, $230 million contract, likely will miss a significant portion of the season while recovering from a torn Achilles' tendon. 

Browns Week 1 starters since 1999 

The Browns are 3-22-1 in Week 1 since returning to the NFL in 1999, but they have won two of their last three Week 1 games. A look at those Week 1 results and the starting quarterbacks in those games.