Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will start the preseason opener Friday when the Cleveland Browns meet the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.

Coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the move on Wednesday.

The Browns have five quarterbacks in camp, but only two — Sanders and newly signed Tyler Huntley — are expected to play against the Panthers.

Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel are nursing hamstring injuries, and Stefanski and staff already know what 40-year-old Joe Flacco can do.

Stefanski said a number of veterans are unlikely to take the field.

“It’s a great opportunity for all of our young players in that football game,” he said.

The Browns selected Gabriel, 24, in the third round of the draft from Oregon and Sanders, 23, in the fifth round from Colorado. Sanders, who played for his father, Deion Sanders, in college, had been considered a first-round talent.

Huntley, 27, started five games last season with the Miami Dolphins in place of an injured Tua Tagovailoa. He had a 2-3 record, completing 86 of 133 pass attempts for 829 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

–Field Level Media