Deion Sanders says Shedeur ‘went through hell’ in rookie year

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, father of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, recently appeared on The Barbershop Podcast and told Garrett Bush about Shedeur’s pre-draft process and rookie season.

“When he takes off his shirt, I see the scars on his back that he’s been through hell, but he’s made it through hell,” Sanders said. “He kept going and he matured, not like he was a child, but he matured spiritually. … You can’t force this. If it ain’t your time, it ain’t your time.”

Shedeur had a standout college career and was projected as one of the top two quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class. Shockingly, he fell all the way to the fifth round, where the Browns drafted him 144th overall.

His 2025 pre-draft process was certainly not without it’s oddities. Rumors arose after anonymous sourced claimed that he did not do well in pre-draft interviews with various teams. Deion spoke out about these claims on his podcast appearance.

“It was some ignorant things came out about him pre-draft and all that, and that was a lie,” Deion said. “Like, he would never go into a meeting with headphones on. He would never go into a meeting unprepared. Like, that’s just not who he is. There’s no way he could accomplish the things he accomplished without being prepared.”

Shedeur spent the early part of the season as the Browns’ third-string QB before Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of Week 6.

He then moved up to backup QB behind Dillon Gabriel, who went down with a concussion against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11.

Shedeur would go on to start the last seven games, finishing with a 3-4 record in those matchups while ending his rookie year with 1,400 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The Browns have since made a coaching change, firing Kevin Stefanski and hiring former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken to replace him.

Deion went on to say he wants to speak with Monken as a coach, not as a dad.

“I want to meet him because I think it’s vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about [Shedeur], how to get him going.”

As of publication, Deshaun Watson is reportedly in the lead to be named the team’s QB1 to start the season, but Monken said a final decision has not been made.