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Deion Sanders Revealed Surprising NFC Power that Considered Drafting Shedeur Sanders

Stephen Douglas

Every NFL team had a chance to draft Shedeur Sanders. Only a few called about him during the draft.
Every NFL team had a chance to draft Shedeur Sanders. Only a few called about him during the draft. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images
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Deion Sanders is the guest on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast with Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce. Sanders explained that his son Shedeur Sanders had rejected the Ravens during the draft because he didn't want to be Lamar Jackson's backup saying, "I've never sat on the bench and said, 'Well, I've learned a lot today.'"

The irony in saying that as his son backs up both Joe Flacco and fellow 2025 draft pick Dillon Gabriel appeared to be lost on the Colorado coach and the podcast hosts.

During the same clip Sanders also broke some news as he revealed that the Eagles had also called his family on draft day. He doesn't explicitly say that Shedeur turned down Philadelphia, but the circumstances in Baltimore and Philadelphia are very similar. In Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts both have entrenched veteran quarterbacks who have experienced a great deal of success with the teams that drafted them.

Neither is a situation where Sanders would have competed for the starting job, but Cleveland didn't exactly turn out to be an ideal situation either. Luckily, Deion has a feeling that Shedeur will get an opportunity to play this year. Flacco's early performances seem to indicate he may be right about that.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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