By Amber Harding

Copyright outkick

Shedeur Sanders falling to the fifth round was one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 NFL Draft. But before he was ultimately selected by the Cleveland Browns, other teams did show interest. The former Colorado QB just wasn’t interested in them. Deion Sanders revealed on the New Heights podcast this week that both the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles reached out to his son during the draft process — and Shedeur told both teams not to draft him. “How in the world can somebody fault him for thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar for 10 more years?’” Deion said. “Who comes in with that mindset?” The issue, as Coach Prime explained it, was about opportunity. Shedeur didn’t think he’d get a real shot to start on teams led by established stars like Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts. “I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today,’” Sanders added. “Who learns sitting on the bench?” He also dismissed the idea that sitting and developing is the smart route for a young quarterback. “Where do these guys come from that sit on these platforms and say, ‘You should’ve sat behind and learned the game and developed’?” Deion asked. “When have the pros developed anybody?” Uhh… plenty of times, actually. Several NFL quarterbacks spent at least a couple of years as a backup before going on to have long and wildly successful careers as starters — Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Matt Hasselbeck, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers and Steve Young, just to name a few. But go on, Deion. “By the time you get to the NFL, they expect you to know what you need to do and do it, or somebody else is gonna get in there and do it,” he concluded. Shedeur is currently third on the Browns’ depth chart behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel. But Deion is confident that will change soon. “It’s gonna go down this year,” he predicted. “He’s gonna get a shot.”