Browns QB Shedeur Sanders has a rough NFL debut after relieving the injured Dillon Gabriel

CLEVELAND (AP) — Shedeur Sanders finally got the opportunity to show what he could do as an NFL quarterback.

In one half of action, the Cleveland Browns rookie showed he still faces a steep learning curve.

The highly publicized son of Deion Sanders entered with 12:43 remaining in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens after Cleveland announced that Dillon Gabriel was being evaluated for a concussion. Gabriel was ruled out later in the quarter.

Sanders completed his first two passes, but not much went right after that. He went 4 for 16 for 47 yards with an interception and was sacked twice, finishing with a 13.5 passer rating as the Ravens rallied for a 23-16 victory.

“I don’t think I played good at all. They gave me an opportunity. I didn’t do up to my expectations to get us a win. I have to take it on the chin,” said Sanders, who also scrambled three times for 16 yards.

With Sanders behind center, Cleveland gained 44 yards on 28 plays with four first downs in six second-half possessions, going three-and-out twice.

“We trust our guys to perform. He’s no different, you know, and playing a backup quarterback role, as we’ve talked about over the years, that’s tough to come in there, but we trust him,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I know there’s things that he’s going to want to do better, but that’s why we work.”

Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who coached Shedeur in college at Jackson State and Colorado, was quiet on social media Sunday night after his son’s debut.

Sanders became Cleveland’s backup behind fellow rookie Gabriel after Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7. However, Sunday was the first time he led the huddle with the first-team offense or threw passes to Jerry Jeudy, Harold Fannin Jr. and Cedric Tillman.

“I think I have heard his cadence like two or three times. I think going out of halftime, we all got on the line, and he said his cadence and we kind of got through it," guard Wyatt Teller said. “Again, a lot of learning, but he played his heart off, put his heart out.”

On his first snap, Sanders threw a 5-yard pass to Tillman. He completed both of his passes for 12 yards on his first drive but struggled with his footwork. He was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton and fumbled, with Teller recovering.

Sanders threw his first interception on his second series. On third-and-10 at the Browns 17, Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy got pressure up the middle and hammered Sanders as he released the ball. The throw was off target and picked off at the 30 by Nate Wiggins, who returned it 14 yards.

There was a four-series stretch where Sanders was 0 of 7 with an interception and took a sack.

After Mark Andrews' 35-yard touchdown run with 2:31 remaining put the Ravens on top, Sanders tried to lead a tying drive. He completed a 25-yard pass to Fannin on the first play. Three plays later, he connected with Jeudy for 10 yards to the Ravens 30.

Sanders and the Browns drove to the Ravens 25 before the drive stalled. Sanders’ final pass intended for tight end David Njoku on fourth-and-5 was short as the Browns (2-8) dropped their third straight.

Sanders did take one shot at the end zone on second-and-5, but missed a throw to Isaiah Bond.

“He just kind of got thrown out there but I think he handled it well. We know what type of player he is and it was good to see him out there,” Tillman said.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said his team didn't deviate much from its plan when Sanders came in, although they blitzed more often in an attempt to rattle him.

“The game plan was going to be good for their offensive system and what they’re doing. We were not going to change that," he said. “You don’t know how the quarterback’s going to look exactly, but you just have to take care of your own business.”

A fifth-round pick by the Browns after some projected him to go in the first round, Sanders was inactive for Cleveland's first five games as the emergency third quarterback after going 17 of 29 for 152 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games.

Sanders should get his first extensive practice with the first-team offense this week, depending on how long Gabriel remains in the concussion protocol. Stefanski said Sanders would get his first NFL start next Sunday at Las Vegas if Gabriel can't play. Gabriel completed 7 of 10 passes for 68 yards in the first half in his sixth NFL start.

The Browns have lost three straight.

“I think it’s a lot of things, you know, we need to look at, during the week and go and just get comfortable, even throwing routes, you know, with Jerry (Jeudy) and throwing routes with all those guys,” Sanders said. “So I think that was my first ball to him all year. But other than that, I just think overall we just got to go next week and understand so then we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) runs the ball in the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) prepares to throw a pass under pressure from Baltimore Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan (40) in the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) drops back from the line of srimmage during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) drops back to pass in the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) is sacked by Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14) in the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 10, 2026--

Trustate is proud to announce that Leah Del Percio and Tara Faquir have been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260310669623/en/

The 2026 Female Founders honorees collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, underscoring the economic impact of women-led businesses across sectors.

Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede — all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.

"As a trusts and estates attorney, I've seen firsthand how fragmented and data-intensive legal practice can be—for professionals and for the families they serve. The legal industry has long lacked the infrastructure to surface, organize, and act on the data that matters most. We built Trustate to change that. We're a data company built for lawyers and law firms, giving practitioners the tools to uncover assets, streamline complex workflows, and deliver high-quality legal documents and work product more efficiently across the full scope of their practice. What drives us is something simple: better data and better tools mean better outcomes for clients during some of the most consequential moments of their lives," says Leah Del Percio, Trustate co-founder and CEO.

“We are incredibly honored to be named to Inc.’s Female Founders list, but what it really reflects is the work our team is doing to modernize an industry that hasn’t changed much in decades,” says Tara Faquir, Trustate co-founder and COO. “At Trustate, we’re focused on giving trusts and estates professionals better tools, better documents, and better data so they can serve families more effectively. The Great Wealth Transfer is underway, and our mission is to help professionals meet that moment with confidence.”

Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program’s advisory board, which includes Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation; Joy Mangano, co-founder and CEO of CleanBoss; Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of GORGIE; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com; and Melissa Mash, co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover.

Since founding Trustate in 2020, Del Percio and Faquir have built a rapidly growing technology platform that’s redefining how lawyers manage their work. Through a series of product launches and strategic partnerships, Trustate is consistently introducing new tools that help professionals locate financial accounts, manage workflows, and produce high-quality estate planning and legal documents within a single system.

Today, Trustate supports more than 1,000 law firms and financial institutions nationwide. Trustate was started to help trusts and estates law firms operate more efficiently while strengthening their estate planning and administration practices. Professionals using the platform save about 400 hours per client and see an average bottom-line boost of $62,000 per firm annually.

Across the platform, Trustate has supported the creation of over 250,000 legal documents and the discovery of $32.5 million in previously unknown assets. It has also facilitated more than 4,200 asset and liability searches, identified nearly 2,000 liabilities, and helped firms complete tens of thousands of tasks that would previously have been done manually.

"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The honorees on this year’s list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they’re showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like.”

Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine’s Spring print issue, on newsstands March 17, 2026. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders/2026.

About Inc.

Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Trustate

Trustate is the only all-in-one technology platform built for trusts and estates professionals, bringing together the entire estate lifecycle–from estate planning document drafting, trust funding, asset and liability discovery, and probate–into a single modern system. Built to replace multiple subscriptions to outdated tools, Trustate helps firms streamline complex estate work, uncover critical financial information, and operate more efficiently. For more information, visit www.trustate.com.

Tara Faquir (Left), Leah Del Percio (Right)