Did Steelers take Shedeur Sanders off their draft board at request of ownership?

One of the most controversial things about the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 NFL draft was the fact that they passed on Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and did so multiple times throughout the course of the three-day event. Of course, Sanders ultimately landed with the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round.

Sanders' fall was legendary, to say the least. Many experts had him going in the first round, and typically no lower than the Steelers' No. 21 pick. There were a few who projected him for the second round, but that's as far as he was expected to go.

It was a bit odd to see the Steelers not draft him after multiple chances considering their need at the position, and after head coach Mike Tomlin spoke highly of the polarizing quarterback.

That has led many to wonder if the Steelers completely took Sanders off their draft board. And, after a recent report, one now has to wonder if Pittsburgh did so at the request of their owner, Art Rooney II.

During his radio show on WFAN in New York, former quarterback Boomer Esiason revealed he has heard multiple teams took Sanders off their board entirely because of his attitude, and even some owners got involved to make sure he wasn't drafted by their team.

“When you listen to this kid talk, right prior or at the combine, about how if you want a new culture in your locker room, I’m the guy to do that, I can turn it around, he’s very high on himself, and I think he’s very off-putting to many, many coaches and general managers in the league,” Esiason said.

“I’m telling you right now, and I know this after talking to three different personnel people in the NFL this weekend, they didn’t even have him on their board. They took him off, and they took him off because the owner said, ‘Take him off, I don’t want that guy. I don’t want this … entitled person on our team,’ and I don’t blame them,” Esiason added.

Again, Tomlin did speak highly of Sanders after he and the Steelers met before the draft, and reports suggested Pittsburgh had interest in drafting him. That's why it's reasonable to speculate that Rooney II was one of the owners to mandate not drafting Sanders over the past weekend.

However, we've never known Rooney II to meddle in things like that, so we'd venture to guess he wasn't in the group that Esiason talked about.

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