Shedeur Sanders had a great first game for the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 preseason against the Carolina Panthers on Friday. The Browns won 30-10, and after the matchup, Sanders directly addressed sports reporter Tony Grossi, whom he feels has often criticized him.“Tony, I be hoping you’ve got something positive to say about me. You always say negative stuff about me,” Sanders said in a clip posted by Underdog NFL. “I didn’t do nothing to you. I’ve never seen you say anything positive about me.”Grossi, a longtime Browns analyst for ESPN Cleveland, has questioned Sanders’ fit and readiness. Previously, Grossi attributed it to Sanders’ “dominant personality,” saying teams didn’t want a backup QB with such a strong media presence.He also pushed back against the idea that the Browns mishandled Sanders and criticized the QB for throwing too much before practice, claiming it aggravated his elbow and kept him out of team drills.In the preseason opener, Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, both to Kaden Davis. He had no turnovers and a passer rating of 106.8. He played nearly three quarters, showing good decision-making and staying composed under pressure.Sanders' first touchdown came after a muffed punt recovery, while his second was a quick throw through tight coverage. He also made a 30-yard pass on the run and scrambled for a first down when needed.Despite the strong showing, Sanders said he didn’t feel he played his best:“I don’t feel like I was sharp at all, honestly. I think I was OK today … some good, some bad.”His father, Deion Sanders, was ecstatic, posting “Yes Lawd!” and “God is so good!” on social media.NBA legend LeBron James also chimed in, defending Sanders against preseason skepticism:“If you hate Shedeur Sanders, you hate football… That young king looking good out there!”Sanders started training camp as the Browns’ fourth-string quarterback, but with injuries to others, he got his chance.Skip Bayless went after critics after Shedeur Sanders’ Browns preseason debutIn a 16-minute video posted to social media and YouTube after the game, sports analyst Skip Bayless went after everyone who had criticized Shedeur Sanders:“Shedeur made the entire National Football League look like a whole bunch of petty fools. In some cases, racist fools. In many cases, Deion-despising fools.”He slammed all 32 teams for passing on Sanders 143 times before the Browns took him at pick 144 in the fifth round. Bayless insisted Sanders should’ve been the No. 1 pick and that his debut vindicated everything he’d said about the young QB’s talent.Earlier this month, Asante Samuel stirred controversy by accusing all 32 NFL teams of colluding to suppress Shedeur Sanders’ draft stock, claiming that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam “broke the code” by defying a silent pact among league owners.