When Shedeur Sanders was in the middle of his NFL Draft slide, there were all sorts of ideas about what might happen.
One of the more out-of-the-box concepts was that Sanders should go back to college, whether to the Colorado Buffaloes or to a new school.
That's not what happened, of course. Sanders got taken by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 144 overall pick.
He made his NFL debut on Sunday, replacing an injured Dillon Gabriel, and went only 4-for-16 passing with an interception while taking two sacks.
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Were all the teams that passed on Sanders for four whole rounds right? Was he this much not ready?
It's hard to say after an out-of-the-blue relief outing. If Sanders starts in Week 12, that might be more telling.
But it adds to the retrospective intrigue about the going back to college path, which would've been unprecedented.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wanted Sanders to try and go back to school anyway.
"We’ve learned one very important thing about college football in recent years," Florio wrote. "Most, if not all, NCAA rules violate federal antitrust laws. And with players now making millions in NIL money, why shouldn’t a player with remaining eligibility be allowed to return?
"No one has tested it. Shedeur could. If it fails, he could then sign a rookie deal and join whichever team eventually drafts him."
Florio also suggested Sanders should then transfer and not play for his dad, proving he could get it done elsewhere.
Of course, there's no going back in time now. But all the past layers of Sanders' path have taken the spotlight now that he's finally been on an NFL field, especially since it didn't go well.
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