Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jamil Muhammad (45) chases Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Former QB Calls Out Shedeur Sanders for Ravens Rejection

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Sunday's game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns already had plenty of intriguing storylines coming in. The Ravens beginning their 30th anniversary celebration against the city they left all those years ago, the return of Joe Flacco to M&T Bank Stadium for the first time since his 2019 trade, the whole nine yards.

Mere hours before kickoff, however, a new bombshell report added even more fuel to the fire.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Ravens originally planned to select quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft, No. 141 overall to be exact, but he turned them down as he didn't want to be a backup to Lamar Jackson. The Ravens instead drafted offensive lineman Carson Vinson with that pick.

Meanwhile, Sanders went to the Browns three picks later at No. 144 overall as he thought he would have a better chance to start right away. However, he's now third on the depth chart behind Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.

The news has drawn a wide range of reactions, surely aided by the fact that Sanders is a polarizing player as is. Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst Alex Smith was one of the most vocal critics of Sanders' decision, believing he did himself a disservice in the long run.

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

"I think this is incredibly short-sighted," Smith said on "NFL Countdown." "You want to go to an organization that is going to develop you. Here you have the Baltimore Ravens, the model of stability in the NFL, and actually has a track record to develop quarterbacks.

"As a fifth-round pick, he's only signing a three-year contract. You go learn for a few years, you get better at your game, the wakeup call of, 'Hey, I am a fifth-round pick. I am not a finished product. I need to get better.'"

That's just one way of looking at the situation, though. Former linebacker Tedy Bruschi and wide receiver Randy Moss, both Smith's colleagues on the ESPN panel, supported Sanders' decision, noting that he wouldn't have had much of a chance to play with Jackson still in his prime. Meanwhile, former head coach Rex Ryan sided with Smith and agreed that the Ravens would've developed him better, but added that he believes Sanders didn't want the development he really needs.

Time will tell if Sanders actually made the right decision, but he knows that he can't change the past now.

"My response is I'm focused on the now," Sanders said after Sunday's game, per ESPN. "I don't really talk about anything in the past and whatever happened in the past, it is what it is. I'm more focused on now. I'm more focused on how this game that we just gone and had and figuring out how to move forward from now."

This article first appeared on Baltimore Ravens on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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