Deion thinks Shedeur will start for Browns in '25

Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, the head football coach at Colorado and father of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, said he anticipates that his son will start for the Cleveland Browns this season.

Speaking during an appearance on Jason and Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast released Monday, Deion Sanders was asked what advice he has for his son.

"Be patient and be ready," he said. "You got to be ready when it's time. But when it's time, you're going to know. And it's coming up. 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 a shot."

Sanders also confirmed an ESPN report that his son told the Baltimore Ravens not to select him in the 2025 NFL draft. He also revealed that the Philadelphia Eagles called on the third day of the draft.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sept. 13 that the Ravens were planning to draft Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round with the No. 141 pick. However, the former Colorado star, who played for his father, let it be known to Baltimore that he didn't want to be on a roster with Lamar Jackson, where he wouldn't have a chance to play anytime soon.

Deion Sanders explained his son's mindset.

"I played for Baltimore, so me and [former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome] are cool," Deion said. "We understood that whole conversation, and he wanted to talk to Shedeur as well as he wanted to talk to me. And I put Shedeur on the phone, and I don't want to say how it went, but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, 'Why in the world would I go back up Lamar [Jackson] for 10 more years?'

"I've never sat on the bench and said, 'Well, I learned a lot today.'"

The Ravens instead drafted offensive lineman Carson Vinson with the 141st pick and the Browns traded up to the 144th pick to select Shedeur Sanders. Currently, he is third on Cleveland's depth chart behind starter Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was taken in the third round. Sanders has been running the scout team offense in practice, along with Gabriel and practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe.

"My response is I'm focused on the now," Shedeur Sanders said after the Browns' loss to the Ravens in Week 2. "I don't really talk about anything in the past, and whatever happened in the past, it is what it is. I'm more focused on now. I'm more focused on how this game that we just gone and had and figuring out how to move forward from now."

The Browns are 1-2 but secured their first victory of the season Sunday with a 13-10 win over the Green Bay Packers. Flacco, in his second stint with Cleveland, has struggled, throwing the second-most interceptions in the NFL (four) and posting a 38.2 Total QBR, which ranks 28th out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Coach Kevin Stefanski, though, said Flacco will start in the Browns' Week 4 road game against the Detroit Lions.