Lebron James, social media react to Shedeur Sanders stunning debut as Ducks' Dillon Gabriel sits

On the same Friday night Tom Brady had a statue unveiled in New England, social media stood ready to build one for Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland.

The Twitterverse went crazy for Sanders' debut performance on the road in Charlotte, a surprise start that saw him complete 14-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns while third-round pick and former Duck Dillon Gabriel sat out the game with a lingering hamstring injury.

Sanders made two big-time throws for touchdowns in his two-and-a-half quarters of action, rolling to his left and delivering a ball to rookie receiver Kaden Davis for a 7-yard touchdown in the second quarter, shuffling to his right and throwing a 12-yard touchdown strike to Davis a minute before halftime.

Sacked twice, Sanders scrambled four times for 19 yards, including a 10-yard run on 3rd and 9 for a first down. He wasn't intercepted, completing just over 60 percent of his passes.

On X basketball star Lebron James, a Cleveland native and lifetime Browns fan, joined the clamor, posting, “That young (man) looking good out there. Keep going UP!!! HEAD down on the grind and HEAD high to the most high.”



The four-time NBA champion followed up with another post, adding “And I don’t wanna hear that ‘It’s only preseason’ bs. Cause if he was out there not going in y’all would be on his (butt) about it! So give credit and grace lames.”

By the end of the game, Sanders upraised-fist gesture (showing off an imaginary expensive watch, as he used to do with a real one as a Colorado Buffaloes quarterback) became a Nike ad.

Newly-acquired NFL journeyman Tyler "Snoop" Huntley took over midway through the third quarter, completing 6-8 of his throws, good for 51 yards and a touchdown. Yet it was Sanders' debut that sparked cries of vindication and sentiment to anoint him as the Browns' savior.

Gabriel and veteran Kenny Pickett sat out the game with injuries. In the leadup head coach Kevin Stefanski said of the 5-11 quarterback from Mililani, Hawaii and Heisman finalist, “Just being very careful with him. Don’t want to expose him to any unnecessary strain, if you will."

In the post-game press conference offensive coordinator Tommy Rees credited Sanders' preparation during camp. "He's worked his tail off. He's really put in a lot of work, as all those guys are," Rees said.

"You can tell on the mental side of the game, learning the system, calling it and having that rhythm to it, he's put a lot of work and time and effort into that. When you do that, the game starts to slow down and you can focus on finding completions. He's done a nice job of that as camp progresses."

Meanwhile Gabriel has been dogged on Cleveland-area talk shows and podcasts for struggles during camp and issues with inaccuracy, although Wednesday in practice he completed 7-8 with a touchdown. That's progress, but it takes a back seat to Sanders' attention-grabbing debut in Charlotte.

While Sanders fell to the fifth round in April's NFL draft, Gabriel and New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough were taken before him, some NFL executives taking issue with the flamboyant quarterback's demeanor during interviews and questions about his accuracy and pocket awareness. Many took Friday night and made it into a symbol or a beacon of hope for a struggling franchise with a long history of mishandling quarterbacks.

The Browns were 3-14 last season, last in the AFC North. Starter Joe Flacco took them to the playoffs in 2023 with an 11-6 record.

Read More: