Powered by:
Morning Coffee: All eyes on Sanders ahead of NFL Pre-Season debut
Published
August 24th, 2019.
That’s a date that I’ll never forget.
I was working in the Sportscentre newsroom that night.
There wasn’t much going on in the sports world beyond the baseball slate and some NFL pre-season action.
I ended up watching a seemingly meaningless pre-season game between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears.
As it turns out, it’s the most memorable exhibition game I’ve ever watched.
Jacoby Brissett was the Colts starting quarterback.
The team’s franchise QB Andrew Luck was still recovering from a series of injuries that included a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, a lacerated kidney, and lingering calf and ankle issues.
Early in the fourth quarter, Princeton legend Jesper Horsted caught a 17-yard TD pass from Tyler Bray to ice a 27-17 win for the Bears.
However, few that weren’t directly involved in that play even remember it happening.
That’s because as that drive unfolded, the players, coaches, and fans inside the stadium were reacting to Adam Schefter’s tweet revealing that Luck planned to retire from the NFL.
Up until that point, nobody had provided any information related to the 29-year-old Luck doing anything other than rehabbing in preparation for the 2019 NFL season.
That social media post led to a surreal moment as the football world learned the news as Luck watched that fourth quarter unfold from the Indianapolis sideline.
Nothing has been the same for the franchise ever since.
Six years later, Colts fans entered Week 1 of the 2025 NFL pre-season with a sense of optimism that 23-year-old Anthony Richardson was primed to take an important step as the franchise quarterback in Indianapolis.
It didn’t take long for that optimism to fade.
Just minutes into the first quarter, Richardson exited the game with a finger injury after taking this hard hit.
Fortunately for the Colts, X-rays on Richardson’s finger came back negative and he is expected to be back on the practice field this week.
Unfortunately for football fans in Indy, Richardson’s quick exit did little to inspire hope that the 23-year-old can stay healthy and thrive as the franchise QB the team envisioned him becoming when he was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Veteran Daniel Jones might not be the answer, either.
The QB1 competition is expected to continue in Indy throughout the pre-season with Jones set to start next Saturday’s exhibition against the Green Bay Packers.
Speaking of quarterback competitions, former Colts QB Joe Flacco is the early frontrunner to be the starter for the Cleveland Browns when they host the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 of the regular season.
The 40-year-old Flacco won’t play Cleveland’s pre-season opener tonight against the Carolina Panthers.
With Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel both dealing with soft-tissue injuries, the Browns will turn to rookie fifth round pick Shedeur Sanders as their starter tonight.
Nobody fully understands how the QB situation will unfold in Cleveland this season.
The only thing we do know is that the Shedeur Sanders timeline is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the NFL.
This is Morning Coffee for Friday August 8th, 2025.
All Eyes On Shedeur Sanders Ahead Of NFL Pre-Season Debut
It didn’t take long for Sanders to be thrust into the spotlight.
In a lot of ways, the spotlight has never left him.
The Browns released their first unofficial depth chart earlier this week.
Flacco was listed as the QB1 for Cleveland.
Pickett was listed as the QB2.
Gabriel was listed as the QB3.
Sanders is officially the QB4.
With Pickett and Gabriel both banged up, the Browns added another QB when they signed Tyler Huntley.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced the Sanders will start tonight in Carolina.
Huntley will see action as Cleveland’s QB2 tonight.
What can we expect from Sanders in his pre-season debut?
While Stefanski didn’t explicitly state how long Sanders will play, the fact that the Browns have two healthy QBs should mean the fifth-round pick plays at least a half.
Sanders to throw for 100+ yards is -210 at FanDuel.
Sanders to throw for 150+ yards is +160.
Sanders to throw for 200+ yards is +650!
Meanwhile, Sanders’ first pass to be a completion is -175 at FanDuel this morning.
Sanders to throw a TD pass on his first offensive drive is +650.
Sanders’ first pass to be a touchdown is 100-to-1.
Sanders to run for a touchdown on his first offensive drive is 50-to-1.
Finally, Sanders to have 1+ touchdown pass is +105 and Sanders to have 2+ touchdown passes is +500.
Considering the hype around his debut and the fact that it’s only a pre-season game, I’m willing to throw coffee money on Sanders to run for a touchdown on his first offensive drive at +5000 and Sanders to have 1+ rushing touchdown at +1400.
I’ve certainly made worse bets than those.
In terms of a FanDuel Best Bet for tonight’s game, I’ll go with Browns over 12.5 points at -128.
The over went 3-0 in Thursday’s pre-season games.
Sanders and Huntley might not lead Cleveland to an upset win, but they should be able to guide the Browns to 13 or more points against the Panthers backups.
As for a FanDuel Best Bet for this weekend’s pre-season games, I’ll take the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Los Angeles Rams.
Sean McVay’s teams have gone 3-9 in the pre-season dating back to 2021.
Matt Stafford won’t play in Saturday’s exhibition.
Backup Jimmy Garoppolo also isn’t expected to play.
Meanwhile, Brian Schottenheimer takes over as head coach in Dallas, and he will have two capable QBs available on Saturday in Joe Milton III and Will Grier.
The 25-year-old Milton has a big arm and a lot to prove after Dallas traded a fifth-round pick for him.
I hope he shines against the Rams tomorrow night.
Give me Cowboys -135 as a FanDuel Best Bet.
Have a great weekend, everyone!