Carolina Sports News

Carolina Sports News

Panthers Defense Put to Test Against Fifth Round Sensation in Preseason Opener

by

In a quarterback room full of uncertainties, the Carolina Panthers know who they’ll be facing on Friday, August 8. The Cleveland Browns added a sixth quarterback to their roster recently, but not even he is the one who’s suiting up.

Deshaun Watson’s injury rocked the Browns world. Their $230 million quarterback has underperformed, but now the team is left without a clear QB1. Even though Joe Flacco brings his veteran presence to the team, they’re looking elsewhere for the preseason opener.

Carolina Panthers Defense Prepares to Face Shedeur Sanders

A first round prospect was shocked to see his name not be called until No. 144. Shedeur Sanders was selected below Dillon Gabriel, among every other quarterback in the draft. Cleveland took Gabriel at No. 94, but the Oregon graduate carries an injury designation into Carolina.

With Gabriel and Kenny Pickett hurt, the only other option to play in the preseason would’ve been Flacco. The 40-year-old was informed he wouldn’t be suiting up on August 8, leaving the Browns with their decision to sign Tyler Huntley.

 

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Knowing the status of QB2 and QB3, the team is going to rely heavily on Sanders in their first preseason game. Huntley has only been at camp for a few days, but he’ll still get some reps at Bank of America Stadium.

Sanders has done his best to impress in training camp, but he’s one of the main attractions this preseason. In a preseason where Cam Ward is looking to earn his flowers in Tennessee, Sanders is hungry to fight his way up the depth chart.

Key players such as Joe Burrow will also be playing in Week 1 of the preseason, a vast difference compared to years in the past. Friday’s slate features three games as the Browns and Panthers play on NFL Network.

Shedeur Sanders is Looking to Make an Example Out of the Panthers

While he won’t be playing against the Panthers top defensive talent, Sanders knows he needs to ball out. A larger than life performance will prove to not just the Browns, but the entire NFL that Sanders should’ve never fell into the 5th round. There are numerous reasons why he did, but he knows it’s time to let his skills speak for themselves.

 

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The 23-year-old threw for a career high 4,134 yards last season. His 37 touchdowns were three shy of the 40 he threw during his final year at Jackson State. While he did throw a career high 10 interceptions, it came in a much tougher conference with the second most pass attempts of his career.

A key number that Sanders improved on was his completion percentage. Having thrown the ball 477 times, Cleveland’s rookie quarterback completed 74% of his passes. He increased his percentage roughly five percent from his first year at Colorado.

Last year, the Panthers went 1-2 in the preseason. They only allowed 32 combined points in their first two preseason games, though they lost both of them. If their defense is able to make an example out of Sanders, it will put the rookie on blast. Not only that, but it could give this Panthers squad an extra layer of confidence.

Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

The post Panthers Defense Put to Test Against Fifth Round Sensation in Preseason Opener appeared first on Heavy Sports.