Is Shedeur Sanders being set up to fail at Browns’ opener?

Tonight, the Cleveland Browns will face the Carolina Panthers for their preseason opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. To the surprise of many, rookie draft pick Shedeur Sanders will start as quarterback, making his NFL debut.

Some critics suspect that he’s being intentionally teed up for failure. One of them is Stephen A. Smith.

“I think he’s being set up to fail,” Smith said on a recent episode of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“There’s been 11 practices, if I remember correctly. [Sanders] has been playing against the third unit, he’s fourth on the depth chart, and then suddenly you throw him into the starting lineup, and he hasn’t had any reps with the first team at all?” he asked skeptically.

“It’s like you want him to fail. I’m not accusing the coaches of doing this; I’m not accusing the [general manager] of doing this. But that owner — Mr. Haslam — that’s a different animal right there.”

Jason Whitlock accuses Smith and other black broadcasters of turning Shedeur Sanders into a victim when he’s the furthest thing from it.

For starters, Whitlock notes, the claim that Sanders is being intentionally set up to fail falls flat when you consider that the Browns’ top two quarterbacks — Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel — are currently dealing with hamstring injuries. That leaves the team with 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco, who should be reserved for emergency situations; Tyler Huntley, who just signed with the Browns days ago; or the only option that makes sense — Shedeur Sanders.

Given the circumstances, Sanders is a competitor with an opportunity to shine, not a victim of a rigged system, Whitlock says.

Smith and others “constantly want to turn black men into victims rather than warriors, rather than competitors, rather than opportunity seekers. Everything is about, ‘We’re being set up for failure,’” he condemns.

There’s zero chance, he argues, that Sanders, as the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, is being intentionally victimized.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Shedeur Sanders tonight,” Whitlock says.

The victim narrative, he speculates, is coming straight from Deion, who’s paved the way for Shedeur’s entire career.

Smith and others are “falling under the spell of Deion Sanders, who wants to make excuses for his boy. … This is all about lowering the bar for Shedeur,” Whitlock says.

To hear more of his commentary, watch the episode above.

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