NFL veteran bashes Deion Sanders over CU legend Shedeur Sanders' NFL 'blackball' cop-out

The Cleveland Browns selected Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the NFL Draft this past April — but things could have turned out very differently. Sanders had the opportunity to land behind one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson, but made it clear he didn’t want that situation.

“A consensus had been headed. 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’d be competing and backing up Lamar Jackson. He wanted to be in a place that he could play,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said.

Many questioned Sanders’ decision to turn down Baltimore, but former national champion and NFL veteran Breiden Fehoko pointed the finger at Deion Sanders for how it was handled.

“Deion outta be ashamed of himself boy. He had this app really arguing that the NFL was blackballing the kid,” Fehoko posted.

This criticism echoed a major theme during the pre-draft process in April. NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter weighed in as well, arguing that the Sanders family overplayed their hand from the start.

“Shedeur and his family, they overplayed their hand," Carter said. "Them thinking that he was in the same evaluation mode as Eli Manning, they didn't play that right. Them trying to narrow the teams that he was going to go to, that didn't do right. Not working out at the combine, that wasn't the right thing. His interview process—obviously he could have done a lot better in that. A lot of people left that meeting and felt he was very, very entitled.”

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Declining the Ravens — a stable franchise with a clear offensive identity — may have been the most questionable move of all. In Baltimore, Sanders would’ve had the chance to develop behind a former MVP and benefit from one of the league’s most consistent organizations. Whether Deion played a role in the decision or not, Fehoko clearly believes the situation was mishandled.

Instead of potentially growing behind Lamar Jackson, Sanders now finds himself buried on the Browns’ depth chart. Some view the decision as being rooted in ego, and with every game he remains inactive, that choice looks even more costly. Sanders and his camp could have avoided this entirely — but they chose otherwise.