Deion Sanders Explains Why Son Shedeur Passed on Ravens
Deion Sanders On Sheduer Passing On Ravens: ‘Why Go Back Up Lamar?’
Earlier this month, ESPN reported that the Ravens had planned to draft Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. But when the Colorado quarterback made it clear he didn’t want to join a team with an established starter like Lamar Jackson, both sides quickly moved on.
When asked about the Ravens’ interest in Sanders, head coach John Harbaugh reiterated last week that the team doesn’t discuss internal draft-room decisions. Sanders, now the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, told local reporters he’s “focused on the now,” adding, “I don’t really talk about anything in the past and whatever happened in the past, it is what it is.”
Shedeur’s father, NFL legend and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, had no problem sharing his thoughts. On the “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, Sanders said he’s on good terms with Ravens executive VP Ozzie Newsome, who signed him at the end of his Hall of Fame career. But he pushed back against criticism of his son, who was projected as a Day 1 or Day 2 pick before slipping to the fifth round.
“I don’t want to say how it went,” Deion Sanders said of the Ravens’ call, “but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar for 10 more years?’ Who comes in with that mindset?”
He also questioned the kind of development his son would get in the NFL. “By the time you get to the NFL, they expect you to know what you need to do and to do it, or somebody else will step in. They teach the playbook, sure, but teaching you how to read defenses, block, hold your point? Man, please. Ain’t nobody taught you that.”
Jason Kelce, the seven-time Pro Bowl center who retired in 2024, weighed in, saying, “It was much better for me in my career to get an opportunity to play right away. I wouldn’t have changed that for a second, no matter what I’d learn elsewhere.” Sanders agreed: “I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today.’ … Who learns sitting on the bench? Like, who does that?”
The Ravens eventually used the 141st overall pick on Alabama A&M offensive tackle Carson Vinson.
