Shedeur Sanders Proves He Was Built For NFL Spotlight

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders has had an up and down start to his NFL career, but the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback has excelled when it comes to being a good teammate, at least in the public eye. After Cleveland's 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Sanders was quick to defend his coaches and his team.

Cleveland failed a fourth-down conversion with five minutes remaining in the game after Sanders was sacked, and the Browns rookie was asked if he agreed with the decision to go for it on fourth down during his postgame press conference.

What Shedeur Sanders Said

“I know you can’t be asking me that question, man. Come on, man," Sanders said. "We can’t see that, that’s like the thing. Like, if we want to change the narrative, change the franchise, if we want to help, we got to speak life. You can’t. Those type of things separate us. Like, a lot of the players, like, get these type of questions, and then we want to be working with y’all. We want to be proactive."

shedeur sanders cleveland browns kevin stefanski hot seat deion sanders colorado buffaloes quarterback nfl rookie — Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) is pressures by. Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

"But, like, when you ask questions or when questions are asked to us players and it’s like you pinning stuff against each other, it’s like, come on now. It’s like a thing in the locker room. Like, you know, we’re not gonna be able to talk to them for real. We’re not gonna be able to give them what they need, like, because that separates the team. That don’t help anything. It don’t help anything in any situation, no matter how you answer it," Sanders continued.

The noise surrounding Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski and his job security with the Browns has grown louder in the past weeks, but Sanders refused to add to that discussion during his postgame press conference.

Deion Sanders' Spotlight

Sanders was always a high-profile NFL Draft prospect coming out of Colorado, and his slide into the fifth round only added to the discussion around the former Buffs star. Being the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, one of the most popular athletes of his generation, has brightened the spotlight around Shedeur Sanders his entire career, and he has handled the extra attention rather admirably.

When Sanders was playing for his dad at Colorado, the Buffaloes were one of the most-viewed college football teams in the country. In fact, Colorado's total viewership ranked No. 9 in the nation, and the Buffaloes were the highest-ranked Big 12 team from the regular season.

Sanders finished his senior season at Colorado with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, ending the year as one of the most accurate quarterbacks in college football. Despite his success on the field, many questioned if he would bring distractions to an NFL locker room.

While the reason behind his NFL Draft slide is hard to pinpoint, Sanders has clearly proven himself as a quality teammate, from his time as the fourth-string quarterback to Cleveland's starter.

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Sanders has had his fair share of struggles, losing four out of his five starts in his rookie season. In the loss to Buffalo, Sanders finished with 157 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions while taking two sacks.

After the loss, Sanders assessed his performance in a rather mature manner. He was asked if fans are missing context sometimes when a quarterback takes sacks, but the former Buffaloes star took accountability.

“I mean, if you’re in a world of pleasing people, you’ll never be happy, you know? So I’m thankful that I was able to prove to myself, you know, that I’m able to play on time and I’m able to step up in the pocket. Like, I’m able to do that. Like, you know, you got to speak life into yourself, because if you look external for that, it’s not gonna happen, you know?" said Sanders.

"I gotta recognize and get back down, you know? So that’s just building on experience, it’s building on time. That’s building. So I look at those moments, okay, like, you got me. You gonna give me, give me now, you know, because I know in the future, all these are building blocks. These are all lessons that I’m definitely putting in my bag and gonna grow from," the rookie continued.