Shedeur Sanders is several weeks into his NFL career riding the bench with the Browns, but his stunning draft day slide continues to make headlines.
This week, attention was brought back to Sanders's drop to the fifth round due to his father, Deion Sanders, appearing on the New Heights podcast. During his appearance Sanders was asked about reports his son turned down interest by the Eagles and Ravens during the draft and scoffed at the idea Shedeur would willingly end up with a team that already has a long-term answer at quarterback.
It sparked another round of discussion about the younger Sanders and his place in the NFL. Colin Cowherd was particularly fired up on the matter, ripping into Deion and Shedeur for believing the young quarterback has the talent to dictate the terms like they seemingly did. He further ranted about how "insane" it is for Deion to steer Shedeur away from those teams when they are some of the best franchises in football.
"This isn't about you, Prime Time," Cowherd began. "Your son doesn't have Prime Time talent. He's an after school special. You were a Prime Time talent. Totally different ballgame. You're projecting your talent onto your son... This story's been undercovered because Deion's very popular in the media. But this is insane."
"This isn’t about you, Prime Time. Your son doesn’t have Prime Time talent. He’s an after school special."@colincowherd reacts to Deion Sanders not wanting Shedeur to be drafted by the Ravens or Eagles pic.twitter.com/bOMgM9G4RU
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 23, 2025
Cowherd makes some strong points. There have been many good quarterbacks who have benefited from learning the ropes on the sideline for a year. And many of those, like Jalen Hurts or Brady, were not drafted with the intention they'd be starting anytime soon. They sat, learned and when the opportunity came, they took it. There isn't just one way to become an NFL star. There are multiple, and thus Cowherd's offense at Sanders's mockery of learning while on the bench.
Sanders is now on the bench in Cleveland anyway. It'll be up to him to prove to everybody he made the right choice in avoiding places like Philadelphia and Baltimore when his time comes.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Colin Cowherd Rips Deion, Shedeur Sanders for Turning Down Teams During Draft: 'Insane'.