For an ultimately meaningless game in Week 1 of the preseason, the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns contest sure is getting a lot of attention.
It’s kind of fun, really, and much of the hype has to do with who’s going to start at quarterback for both teams. For Carolina, it will be Bryce Young. He and the other Panthers starters are going to play some in the first two exhibitions in 2025 — a reversal of form from 2024.
Advertisement
For Cleveland, the starter will be the most famous fourth-string quarterback currently in the NFL — Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion and the beneficiary of a series of injuries that means the Browns are about to throw him into the fire right away.
Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during a June 2025 minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio. Due to several injuries, Sanders will start for Cleveland against Carolina Friday night. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
So if you’re going to this 7 p.m. Friday game at Bank of America Stadium, be aware that the best part is likely going to come early. Young and the offense may only get one series of work — head coach Dave Canales only wants that unit to play 8-12 plays, and all of that could be eaten up with a decent first drive.
For Sanders, though, the workload will be far heavier — maybe the entire first half. The Browns, who employ a whopping six quarterbacks, only plan to play two of them Friday — Sanders and journeyman Tyler Huntley, who was only signed on Tuesday. That’s because likely starter Joe Flacco is 40 years old and needs to make sure he stays healthy more than he needs the work.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco participated in the joint practice between his team and the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on Aug. 6, 2025. However Flacco won’t play in Friday’s preseason game, as the Browns go with less experienced quarterbacks in the exhibition.
Meanwhile, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Deshaun Watson are all recovering from injuries (in the case of Watson, the former Clemson star, he may well not play the entire 2025 season).
Advertisement
Nationally, the story will be mostly about Sanders, an intriguing figure once thought to be a sure first-round pick after starring for his father’s team at Colorado. Instead, in April, Sanders dropped all the way to the fifth round and wasn’t even the first quarterback taken by the Browns (they chose Gabriel out of Oregon in the third round).
But locally, the Panthers will be mostly about Young and company. Canales is trying a different approach this year in the preseason after last year’s timidity — Young and the offense barely played in the exhibitions at all — backfired badly.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young prepares to throw a pass during a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns at training camp in Charlotte Wednesday. Young will start and play a series or two on Friday night in the first game of the preseason, vs. the Browns.
Young and Carolina were so bad in the first two real games in 2024 — losing them by scores of 47-10 and 26-3 — that by Week 3, Young had already been benched by Canales. It took a car wreck involving to Andy Dalton to get Young back into the starting lineup, where he flourished (well, at least as much as you can flourish in a 5-12 season).
Advertisement
So now Young is going into Year 3 and Sanders is a rookie. Both will start Friday. Given that, Young was asked Wednesday what advice he would give Sanders. He demurred, saying: “We’re the same age!”
That’s not quite right — Young just turned 24, and about seven months older than the 23-year-old Sanders. But in a larger sense, it’s true. Young has had a lot more NFL experience, but both players have been in the spotlight for a long time.
Cleveland star defensive end Myles Garrett, like Young, was the overall No. 1 pick of an NFL draft (Young in 2023, Garrett in 2017). Garrett was asked Wednesday about Young’s progress and was complimentary.
“I think he looks a lot more comfortable than the first time he suited up,” Garrett said. “I think they’ve really rallied around him.”
As for what Panthers fans better hope to see Friday? Honestly, Carolina dominating the first quarter is what you would want, and really what the Panthers need.
Advertisement
The Browns not only are resting Flacco, they also don’t plan to play most of their starters at all. And remember, Cleveland went 3-14 last season — two games worse than the Panthers.
So it will be Carolina’s first-team defense against a Browns rookie quarterback who right now is a fourth-stringer and will be playing with mostly second-stringers. And on the other side, it’s Young and his top playmakers (rookie Tetairoa McMillan was outstanding Wednesday in the joint practice) against Cleveland’s second team.
Of course, you never can tell how it’s going to go. Plus, the second half will likely be a quarterback battle between Carolina’s Jack Plummer and Cleveland’s Huntley, supported by guys who mostly are bidding for a spot on the practice squad. That’s more typical exhibition stuff.
But the beginning of this one Friday night should be cool.
Advertisement
Don’t be late.