The Eagles called Shedeur Sanders on draft day, according to Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders discussed his son Shedeur’s draft journey, one that included him turning down a Super Bowl contender with an established quarterback: the Ravens.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was injured for most of his team's join practices with the Eagles.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

by Ariel Simpson

Published Sept. 22, 2025, 4:44 p.m. ET

Former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders made plenty of headlines in the offseason, and even more during NFL draft weekend when the projected first-round pick fell all the way to Day 3 before finding a home with the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round. Since then, there have been reports that the Baltimore Ravens were also interested in the quarterback but Sanders turned them down — or at least made it known that the interest was not mutual.

His Hall of Fame father and former head coach, Deion Sanders, confirmed those reports and explained Shedeur’s reasoning on the latest episode of New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. The Colorado coach also made some more headlines by revealing another team that showed interest in his son: the Eagles.

“How in the world, they made a big deal out of — Philly called us on draft day,” Deion Sanders said. “Uh, they didn’t mention that. I just let a cat out of the bag.”

Jason responded: “No, it’s good. I didn’t know that.”

The Eagles expressed interest in drafting the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year as he continued to fall down in the draft, according to Ian Rapoport. However, the Browns traded ahead of the Eagles to draft Sanders with the 144th overall pick.

The Eagles took cornerback Mac McWilliams out of Central Florida, and a round later, with the 181st pick, took quarterback Kyle McCord, a St. Joseph’s Prep product who finished his college career at Syracuse.

Had the Eagles drafted Sanders, he would have joined a quarterback room with Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee. Learning under a proven winner like Hurts could have been helpful for the young quarterback as he developed. Although that didn’t happen, Hurts still offered Sanders some advice during a lengthy discussion at the end of the Eagles-Browns joint practices, which Sanders mostly missed due to injury.

While Hurts didn’t go into the specifics of his conversation with Sanders, he did say he’d continue “supporting him from where I am.” Deion confirmed the reason Shedeur rebuffed the Ravens is because he never planned on learning under a franchise quarterback like Lamar Jackson in the first place.

“How in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar for 10 more years?’ Who comes in with that mindset?” Sanders said. “Where do these guys come from that sit on these platforms and say, ‘You should’ve sat behind and learned the game and developed?’ When have the pros developed anybody?

“By the time you get to the NFL they expect you to know what you need to do and do it, or somebody else is going to get in there and do it. … I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today.’”

While he may not find himself having to “back up Lamar for 10 more years,” Sanders was hardly the Day 1 starter in Cleveland. In fact, Shedeur has been slotted behind Browns starter Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, a 2025 third-round pick, on Cleveland’s depth chart and has yet to make an appearance in the regular season.

However, Deion has high hopes that Shedeur will see time on the field before the year ends.

“You got to be ready when it’s time,” Sanders said. “But when it’s time, you’re going to know and it’s coming up. You know, I got a prediction, I ain’t telling nobody. I got a feeling when it’s going to go down. But, it’s going to go down this year. … He’s going to get his shot.”