The former Colorado star was heavily linked with a move to Pittsburgh ahead of the 2025 NFL draft but the AFC North franchise opted to continually snub him as part of his dramatic slide
17:03 ET, 21 Jun 2025Updated 17:04 ET, 21 Jun 2025
Shedeur Sanders was finally put out of his misery in the 2025 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns
Shedeur Sanders endured one of the most dramatic slides in NFL draft history as he went from a guaranteed first or second round pick to a fifth round selection, with the reasoning for that – at least in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ case – now being revealed.
The 23-year-old is currently underway with life as a Cleveland Browns player, having been put out of his misery by the AFC North franchise when it selected him with the 144th overall pick on the third and final day of the 2025 NFL draft. He has since been urged to keep his mouth closed and listen carefully ahead of his first training camp in the NFL.
In the run-up to the draft, however, there was a lot of talk about the Steelers potentially grabbing Sanders with their No. 21 pick. In the end, they opted for Derrick Harmon from Oregon instead, a decision Pittsburgh GM Omar Khan labelled an “easy choice.” The following month, it emerged that Aaron Rodgers had supposedly ‘told the Steelers not to draft Sanders.’
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Rodgers has since signed a one-year deal to become the starting quarterback at Acrisure Stadium for the 2025 NFL season, and ex-NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker believes that the 41-year-old might have influenced the Steelers’ draft strategy by advising against picking Sanders.
However, a new theory on Pittsburgh’s reasoning for not selecting Sanders in the draft has now emerged, with Ray Fittipaldo, a beat writer covering the Steelers, claiming that the team simply did not grade him within the first five rounds.
Speaking on 93.7 TheFan, Fittipaldo also suggested that there might have been concerns about his dad, Deion Sanders, yet it was ultimately his skills that impacted his draft slide. “I think mostly, it had to do with, they didn’t have a grade on him within the first five rounds,” Fittipaldo began.
Sanders was eventually selected by the Browns with the 144th overall pick during the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft
“I think the second part of that equation, and this was never really discussed, you’ve seen some leaks with other teams across the NFL. Now, a lot of people just didn’t want to deal with Deion Sanders and what that might be down the road after he’s done at Colorado.
“So, I don’t know if the Steelers felt that same way, but they did not have a top-five grade. A top-five round grade on Shedeur Sanders, and that’s why they went the route they went.”
Fittipaldo’s comments regarding Sanders’ dad hint at the idea floated by the 57-year-old that he wants to coach his son in the NFL someday. With this in mind, it’s unlikely Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is going to draft a player whose dad may eventually want to take his job.
Ahead of the draft, ‘Coach Prime’ confidently predicted that his son would be a top-five selection, yet was left red-faced after his bold prediction fell flat when the young quarterback missed out on the first round.
It’s been claimed that concerns over Deion Sanders had influenced Pittsburgh’s decision to select the 23-year-old in the draft
In a strange turn of events, however, Sanders could be helped out by the Steelers in his mission to be named Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the 2025 NFL season, having reportedly been listed as the Browns’ fourth-string quarterback heading into training camp, slated to begin in late-July.
He is currently competing with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, yet heavy.com predicts the Steelers’ own backup quarterback situation could end up helping Sanders.
With the current backup options – Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and sixth-round rookie Will Howard – for Rodgers being rather underwhelming, the website suggests that the Steelers could send a future sixth-round pick to the Browns for Flacco, therefore likely seeing Sanders make the Browns’ 53-man roster, alongside Pickett and Gabriel.