After opening the preseason with a dominant 30-10 win on the road against the Panthers on Friday night, head coach Kevin Stefanski applauded 60 minutes of effort from the Browns.
"Really pleased with the effort all night," Stefanski said. "I thought our guys were flying around. I thought they were competing at an extremely high level – offense, defense and special teams. It was really fun to watch those guys throughout the night."
After arriving back in Cleveland early Saturday morning, the Browns will have three days to recover before traveling to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a pair of joint practices with the Eagles before their second preseason game. Stefanski said Cleveland will keep their head down and lock in for another important block of practices as they prepare for the regular season.
Here are the top notes as the Browns get ready for the City of Brotherly Love:
Injury Updates
The Browns had a pair of injuries on Friday, which Stefanski gave updates on. WR Luke Floriea suffered a hamstring injury and CB LaMareon James is in the concussion protocol.
After quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett were held out of the first preseason game with hamstring injuries, Stefanski said he will see over the next couple of days whether they will be able to participate during the joint practice with the Eagles. With Pickett still getting acclimated to taking team reps in practice after suffering his injury, Stefanski is erring on the side of caution.
"We're taking in information every single day with his injury," Stefanski said of Pickett. "I'll tell you he's very much involved in the meeting room, in the walkthroughs, so he's not missing a beat when it comes to what we're doing. He'll be out there as soon as he's ready as soon as he's healthy, but he's doing a nice job of keeping himself ready."
Shedeur Sanders' Debut
QB Shedeur Sanders made his Browns debut against the Panthers, throwing for 138 yards and two passing touchdowns.
He played deep into the third quarter, playing 45 snaps, nearly reaching the 50-play mark that Stefanski had set for the Colorado product going into the game. Over the 10 drives Sanders played, the Browns ran a variety of plays to help him get settled into the offense and playing quarterback in the NFL.
"Certainly, for a quarterback, that next step is getting in the game settings and taking the practice field to the game, and I thought that's what we saw by and large from Shedeur (Sanders)," Stefanski said. "That's what we saw by and large from our offense was really taking those things that we're homing in on, on the practice field and then showing them in the games, and it goes back to the previous point where we want to vary our offense."
QB Shedeur Sanders made his NFL debut, completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the Browns' 30-10 win over the Panthers.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Cornerback Tony Brown II (11) and Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Cornerback Tony Brown II (11) and Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders' jersey before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders's cleats before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders' helmet and jersey before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) and Offensive Coordinator Tommy Rees before a preseason NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on August 8, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium. The Browns won 30-10.
Wide Receiver Depth
Among the wide receivers who played in the first preseason game, Floriea, Gage Larvadain and Kaden Davis stood out. Floriea recorded 30 receiving yards on a one-handed grab on a lobbed pass from Sanders, while Larvadain and Davis both had 23 yards. Davis finished the game with three receptions, tied for the team lead, while Larvadain had two catches.
"You want to see what they're doing on the practice field show up on the game field. I think you did see that," Stefanski said. "Again, it was in a myriad of ways. Gage (Larvadain) was also on punt return. (Luke Floriea and Kaden Davis) both had punt returns, but it was off of different routes, and they did a nice job. I think (Luke Floriea) going to stretch for that ball down the sideline was outstanding. So those guys got an opportunity to really show what they can do."
Rookie Outlook
In addition to Sanders, RB Dylan Sampson, TE Harold Fannin Jr., DT Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger all made their debuts for the Browns.
All four players started the game for Cleveland, but Schwesinger stood out in the limited time he played, according to Stefanski, making six tackles and leading the Browns in the category.
"(To) get that uniform on for the first time, go perform in our schemes, I thought it was really important and then got them out and they were able to watch a good bit of it," Stefanski said. "Learn from those reps as well. But Carson (Schwesinger) in particular was productive when he was in there. I thought he did a nice job of playing physical. He was engaged with a blocker, still made a tackle, so you just see his skill set showing up, really in that short amount of time."
