Deion Sanders reacts to Shedeur's breakout performance in NFL preseason game

During his son Shedeur’s impressive debut for the Cleveland Browns in the preseason, Deion Sanders took to social media to react. He shared multiple posts amid his son’s breakout performance.

Shedeur Sanders got the start in Friday’s game and put together a strong showing. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in over two quarters of action. At the time of his departure, the Browns had a 21-7 lead over the Carolina Panthers.

Coach Prime was a proud dad throughout. He shared his reaction to Shedeur’s first touchdown pass to Kaden Davis, saying “Yes Lawd! Yes!” and more big plays, including a response to his impressive second touchdown to Davis late in the second quarter.

Shedeur Sanders to Kaden Davis AGAIN for the TD!

CLEvsCAR on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/9ucfAJiMNY

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2025

The expectation was Sanders would play 50 snaps in Friday’s game, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. He wound up playing the entire first half and the first part of the third quarter.

Sanders got off to a bit of a slow start with a three-and-out, but had the Cleveland offense moving on the second drive of the game. However, on fourth down, he ran backward before eventually throwing the ball away. He bounced back well from there, though, finding Davis for his first touchdown in an NFL uniform on the ensuing possession.

Sanders initially came in as the No. 4 quarterback on the Browns’ initial depth chart earlier this week. Joe Flacco was listed as QB1, followed by Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. However, Pickett is dealing with an injury, and Stefanski said the Browns are being careful with Gabriel as he also nurses an injury.

That opened the door for Sanders to get the nod Friday night after he went No. 144 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, ending his surprising slide down the board. Stefanski said the former Colorado star showed his excitement about the opportunity at hand.

As for what his expectations were for Sanders, Stefanski said he wanted to see him go out and run the offense. The goal was to keep things simple out of the gate.

“My expectations for Shedeur are not different than the rest of the guys, honestly,” Stefanski said, via the team website. “We expect him to go operate. When you get into these preseason games, you try and keep it very simple so guys can play fast. All concepts that our players know and not think too much and just play ball.”