Jerry Jones and Deion Sanders' relationship could make a Shedeur Sanders trade possible

Shedeur Sanders' rookie year with the Cleveland Browns was an absolute roller coaster. Now, trade rumors are starting to pop up.

People keep linking him to the Dallas Cowboys because of Coach Prime’s connection with Jerry Jones, even though the move makes little sense from a football perspective.

Sanders fell all the way to the fifth round of the 2025 draft before Cleveland took him at No. 144. He finally got his chance to start in Week 12, but things were pretty rocky. Over seven starts, he went 3-4 and threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. 

He ranked near the bottom of the league in QBR, but he definitely showed flashes of high-end talent, including a solid 364-yard, three-touchdown game against the Tennessee Titans.

Cleveland fired Kevin Stefanski this offseason and hired Todd Monken to take over. Now, Monken is overseeing a wide-open quarterback competition between Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel. Because of that crowded depth chart, rival teams have reportedly called Cleveland about trading for Sanders as recently as late June.

That is where Dallas enters the picture. Analyst Cooper Kleinberg shared the Cowboys' name as a landing spot, penning Jones "could acquire Sanders for relatively cheap and give him the opportunity to develop behind Dak Prescott as the team's long-term backup." 

It's a notable name to attach to Dallas given Jones' decades-long friendship with Shedeur's father, Deion Sanders, a Cowboys Hall of Famer and Ring of Honor member.

From a football perspective, the Cowboys are not a good fit for Shedeur because he wouldn't get the chance to start any games. Dak Prescott is already established as the starter, and Dallas rarely uses resources to develop future quarterbacks behind him.

Kleinberg even admitted the rumor is mostly about entertainment, noting the Cowboys have had a very quiet offseason and adding that Sanders would shake things up. Ultimately, the trade talk persists because Jones loves making high-profile, relationship-driven moves, even if the roster doesn't actually need him.

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