The AFC North evidently had lots of interest in Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. The Pittsburgh Steelers brought him in for a visit. The Cleveland Browns traded up and stopped Sanders’ draft weekend fall. But he nearly became a member of the Baltimore Ravens until Sanders himself refused to go there. ESPN Adam Schefter laid out the details Sunday morning.
“A consensus had been reached,” Schefter said on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown. “The Baltimore Ravens were planning to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round with the 141st overall selection. But when he found out he got word back to the Ravens that he preferred not to go to a place where he would be competing and backing up Lamar Jackson. He wanted to be in a place that he could play. And so when the Ravens got that message, they pivoted, went a different direction with the 141st overall selection.”
The timing of the news is interesting, five months after the 2025 NFL Draft, which provided endless coverage and speculation as Sanders, believed to be a first-round pick, fell to the fifth round. The Browns selected him 144th overall, the second quarterback Cleveland drafted behind third-rounder Dillon Gabriel. Schefter’s comments come as the Browns and Ravens square off today. Sanders will do so as the emergency third-string quarterback in Cleveland.
Baltimore ultimately passed on drafting any quarterback. Schefter noted the Ravens planned to take Sanders at No. 141, three spots ahead of where he was drafted. Instead, the Ravens selected Alabama A&M OT Carson Vinson.
College prospects have no direct say in who drafts them and the Ravens still could’ve selected Sanders against his wishes. But following Mike Tomlin’s creed of “volunteers, not hostages,” Baltimore didn’t want to select a quarterback, one who would’ve brought a hot media spotlight and who didn’t want to be there. Schefter’s report meshes with comments Deion Sanders made pre-draft, indicating he had told certain teams his son did not want to play there. Internet sleuths also pointed out the Ravens were among the 12 teams that didn’t have a hat in Sanders’ draft room.
Going to Baltimore could’ve afforded Sanders the chance of being Jackson’s immediate backup. But starting wasn’t in the cards. His only path to playing time would’ve been a Jackson injury, an occurrence that’s happened several times over the years. Injuries once made Tyler Huntley a Pro Bowler, even if that title came in the least-deserved sense possible.
Instead, Sanders’ calculation was to head to Cleveland with the chance to start. Joe Flacco predictably opened the year as the No. 1 but isn’t a long-term option. Sanders will have to compete against Gabriel, who earned the No. 2 spot over Sanders this summer, and the looming possibility of Cleveland drafting a first-round quarterback next season.
