Report: Shedeur Sanders is expected to start Friday's preseason opener for Browns

Shedeur Sanders hasn't had many opportunities in practice. He will get them this week.

Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports that Sanders is expected to start Friday night's preseason opener against the Panthers. Sanders will get an opportunity to prep with the first-team this week too, per Cabot, when he gets starter reps in the joint practice with the Panthers on Wednesday.

Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel are nursing hamstring injuries that has limited their practice time of late, and Joe Flacco will not play in the game. The Browns list Flacco as the starter on their initial depth chart.

The Browns signed quarterback Tyler Huntley on Tuesday, and he likely will spell Sanders on Friday.

Sanders has received only four snaps against the first-team defense during training camp, per Cabot, and those came on Day 7 of camp last week. He has not yet thrown to Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, Diontae Johnson or David Njoku in practice.

Sanders missed Saturday's practice with arm soreness but returning Monday and declared himself 100 percent healthy.