Earlier this month, it was reported the Ravens initially planned to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of April’s draft. Instead, the oft-discussed quarterback wound up being taken by the Browns. 
During an appearance on the New Heights podcast (video link), Sanders’ father Deion confirmed the Ravens’ interest. He also corroborated reporting which stated the presence of Lamar Jackson as Baltimore’s starter severed as the reason why the Sanders camp preferred a selection from another team. A poor pre-draft process led to a slide well into the Day 3 order, something which added further to the unusual storyline surrounding this situation.
Deion Sanders made another notable revelation when speaking about the draft, though (h/t Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com). In addition to interest from the Ravens and Browns, the Eagles made contact during the event. Philadelphia’s QB depth chart is of course topped by Jalen Hurts, something which will remain the case for the foreseeable future. The team made a number of moves at the position this offseason, however.
Kenny Pickett was dealt from the Eagles to the Browns in a move which made him one of four passers to take part in training camp for Cleveland. After the team elected to go with Joe Flacco as the starter, Pickett became expendable and he was traded to the Raiders. That left Sanders in a third-string role behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Flacco has handled QB1 duties for each of the first three weeks this season, and it does not appear a change in the pecking order is imminent.
Had the Eagles drafted Sanders, they would presumably have avoided trading for Sam Howell late in August. The latter was traded during Day 3 of the draft from Seattle to Minnesota, but the Vikings’ decision to sign Carson Wentz as a new backup opened the door for Howell to change teams once again. The Eagles also have 2023 sixth-rounder Tanner McKee on their quarterback depth chart.
Howell is a pending free agent, but McKee’s rookie contract runs through 2026. Selecting Sanders would have represented a long-term (and inexpensive) investment under center on the part of Philadelphia. The issue of having an entrenched starter still would have been an issue similar to that of the Ravens, however. The situation is much different in Cleveland, and it remains to be seen when – or if – Sanders will receive playing time in 2025.
Oh, ok
Something tells me that Sanders isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Makes sense. The Eagles do habitually take later round flyers on prospects with some name recognition or who were once considered likely to be early round players.
Drafting Sanders would not have impacted the need for Sam Howell.
The Eagles have a vastly better QB2 than Sanders, but he was set to miss 2-3 weeks with a Thumb injury and wanted an Experienced NFL Backup QB to be available, which is not Sanders…..which is why he has not taken a snap for the Browns…which have no aspirations this year beyond developing talent.
Yeah this is shockingly not reported in this article, but the only reason they picked up Howell was because of McKee’s injury. You’d think there’d be more critical thinking before pressing publish.
Seems like just another quick “here’s a reminder Sheduer fell in the draft 5 months ago based off a comment his dad made” article for the monthly quota at this point.
Can we stop with the Sanders stories already
Not really … this kid made some really bad mistakes this past draft season. Cost him too much money.
I mean, his name is clearly listed in the headline… There’s no rule that says you HAVE to read the article…
Seriously. If you don’t like seeing something on the internet, clicking and commenting is the last thing you should do.