Shedeur Sanders’ representation, led by his Colorado Buffaloes football coach and father, Deion Sanders, decided that backing up Lamar Jackson on the Baltimore Ravens was a non-starter for the “Grown QB” and nixed a union with the NFL draft’s No. 141 pick this past April.
USA Today Draft Wire’s Paul M. Banks strongly hinted that dictating this Ravens decision may have gotten around in NFL circles, leading to Shedeur’s infamous three-day draft slide to the Cleveland Browns’ No. 144 pick.
“(A lack of patience, willingness to pay dues, willingness to compete) are not traits you want your quarterback to have, and with the former Colorado star conveying this to the Ravens, the word probably got out to other NFL teams too. There may have been other teams, who have entrenched starters at the most important position in all of sports, keen on Deion Sanders' son too,” Banks wrote.
“Perhaps he brushed them away too?
“If that's the case, then no wonder a supposed first round pick slid all the way down to round five. Sanders was QB3 for Cleveland yesterday, but he didn't see any playing time in the Browns' 41-17 loss at Baltimore.”
Sanders dictated too many terms for a player who wouldn’t show his game at the East-West Shrine Bowl this past January. Combined with a genuine worry that Coach Prime could leave Colorado to usurp Shedeur’s head coach, shared by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, few NFL franchises wanted to deal with the media circus.
The Browns did, and they ended up having their quarterback competition become a social media culture war issue. Cleveland is 0-2 through the first three games of the season, and Sanders is buried on the depth chart as the team’s QB3.
It’s unclear if it’ll be worth it for the Browns. The early returns don't inspire much confidence, but they did sign Shedeur to a four-year deal.
It definitely wasn’t worth it, at least monetarily, for Shedeur’s representation, given how it’s played out thus far.