Shedeur Sanders is once again in the headlines. This time because of Stephen A. Smith’s comments. Smith’s recent comments on the Cleveland Browns’ QB have sparked a heated debate, revealing a curious contradiction in his stance on the young quarterback’s NFL journey. Smith recently said the Browns are setting Sanders up to fail by starting him to soon.
"I think [Shedeur Sanders] is being set up to fail."
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 7, 2025
—@stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/gU32q1s2Cw
On one hand, Smith passionately decried Sanders’ dramatic slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, labeling it a “damn disgrace” and suggesting it was a targeted slight against Sanders’ father, Deion, rather than a reflection of his talent.
Starting Too Soon
On the other, he now claims the Browns are setting Sanders up to fail by starting him in their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, citing his lack of first-team practice reps as evidence of a setup. If Sanders is the top-tier QB Cleveland drafted, as Smith and others argued, questioning his readiness for a mere preseason game is ridiculous. It is an opportunity for the rookie to prove his worth.
Smith’s inconsistent narrative underscores the polarized lens through which people judge Sanders’ career. Mixing legitimate critique with speculative drama, some complain because he wasn’t drafted high enough, yet now they’re complaining because he’s getting thrust into the starting role too soon. Not to mention, he’s still unproven, overly hyped and he plays for the Browns. The quarterback position for the Browns is a never-ending turnstile. It’s not like he’s on a team that has a legitimate starter already. The Browns have Joe Flacco, who is ancient in NFL years. Sanders’ competition is another rookie, Dillon Gabriel, and an unproven injury, prone Kenny Pickett.
Who’s Right?
Sports media gets takes offense to everything. Especially when they fall in love with a player and they can’t understand why other people don’t see it the same way. If Sanders is awesome he was awesome all along and the NFL just wanted to hold him back. If he’s terrible it’s all the NFL’s fault and they just wanted to hold him back. This is how the media will frame it. If he didn’t have the Sanders name, he would not get the attention.
The Browns begin their preseason tonight against the Panthers but the starters don’t usually play many snaps in the preseason opener. If Sanders looks good, the media will say he’s the next great Hall of Fame quarterback. Furthermore, if he does not look good, the supporters will say it’s because it was only limited snaps.
