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Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders was part of Shedeur Sanders’ decision-making that led to a brutal slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft this past April. As we’ve learned, the slide could’ve ended three picks earlier than it did, but Shedeur’s management concluded that backing up Lamar Jackson on the Baltimore Ravens wasn’t a good option for his career.
Cam Newton didn’t want to criticize the decision-making, but he had no choice after hearing about turning down Baltimore to end up with the Cleveland Browns.
“I think this is a learning lesson about life, because you just never know … and with this particular situation, I don’t want to get too aggressive, you know, because when I talk about Shedeur, is so sensitive because of the passion and desire that I have, not only just for him, but also for his father. And there are some things that if you could go back and change obviously, hindsight is 20-20 but when you’re looking at the better situation, the better situation is definitely Baltimore, where you could potentially learn from a great and see how he manages so many different things outside of football, rather than just performing at an elite level,” Newton said on ESPN’s First Take.
“Well, in Cleveland, you got to go through two individuals to insert yourself, as you know, the starter. Dillon Gabriel, who’s now the second quarterback at hand, and then obviously, Joe Flacco. And when you consider those things, it’s like, oh, like, what situation is better? You know? No, he didn’t know that (he was going to wind up in Cleveland). He opted for what was behind curtain number two, rather than the known curtain in Baltimore.
“If I’m Shedeur, you would ideally want to learn behind a guy like Lamar Jackson for this particular reason and this particular reason only, not a lot of players can really cope with your star power, with your stardom, right. And let’s really give credit where credit is due. At 28 years old, being a phenomenal athlete, the thing that I respect a guy like Lamar Jackson the most, we’ve never heard him have any off the field issues.
“He’s been a stand up guy, and all of our opinions have always led to his on-field performance. Not a lot of people can relate to what Shedeur Sanders has been through in his whole life, and that right there serves even more to make him a better player, because it’s the totality of the position. And I think Lamar Jackson would have been able to relate to him in many ways.”
Newton showed all the empathy humanly possible regarding Shedeur’s choice, but at the end of the day, the football decision is too egregious not to call out.
Shedeur had no guarantees anywhere he landed. There was no guarantee he’d even make the Browns back in April. He earned his spot during a stellar preseason debut in Charlotte against the Panthers.
He had a guaranteed role in a stable organization that actively wanted him, but Shedeur passed on it.
We’ll see how that decision holds up long-term.
English (US)