Carrying the legacy of a football icon and NFL Hall of Famer, Shedeur Sanders faces lofty expectations. Yet, this also fuels excitement about what he can contribute to the field. As the son of Deion Sanders, Shedeur is well-acquainted with this reality.

Many anticipated that the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback would be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Surprisingly, he wasn’t selected then, nor on the second day of the draft. Ultimately, the Cleveland Browns chose him in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick.

Then throughout training camp, some wanted Shedeur to be the team’s starting quarterback. But Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named veteran Joe Flacco the team’s starter. Shedeur became the third-stringer behind fellow rookie, Dillion Gabriel. But after Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals and Gabriel began to struggle under center, just about everyone in Cleveland was calling for Shedeur to start.

Now, that’s going to happen and fans are having a strong reaction to the news.

Shedeur Sanders’ NFL debut was terrible

Even though there’s no telling how he’ll work out as a starter in the NFL, Shedeur just being on the team has brought more excitement to the franchise the any other Browns player in recent memory.

So when Gabriel had to come out of the game in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens for a concussion, the crowd cheered loudly with anticipation for Shedeur and he had a chance to shine. But he didn’t. Instead, the quarterback went 4 of 16 for 47 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked twice and put up a 13.5 rating in his debut.

Shedeur’s mother, Pilar Sanders, took to Instagram right away and reminded everyone that son did not have any first team reps all week.

Now, with Gabriel still unable to go this week, Shedeur has all the first team reps and Browns fans cannot wait to see what he can do on Sunday.

Fans react to Shedeur getting the his first NFL start

Sheduer knows he can wipe that nightmarish debut he had one week ago from everyone’s mind if he looks good and can get a W against the Raiders, a team which like the Browns, only have two wins this season.

The game is winnable so people expect the Browns to win with Shedeur as the signal caller. The pressure on his shoulders is immense and may even a little unfair, but that’s the NFL.

After it was confirmed that Shedeur was the starter for Sunday, social media lit up with more than 1,000 reactions and what many believe Deion and Pilar’s son will do in Sin City.

“Browns are so back. Double digit win by the Browns on Sunday,” one person wrote.

Another posted, “Good. He gets a week of practice with the 1s. This is the chance he has been waiting for. If he can put together a good game, he has a future.”

A third added, “It’s pressure for some. It’s passion for him. He’ll step up,” while a fourth wrote, “Great news for Cleveland fans. I’m sure he’ll do a great job.”

And a fifth insisted, “He is going to throw for over 225 yards against those bums.”