Source: Titans, Browns, Giants asked Shedeur Sanders to not practice at Shrine Bowl
DENTON, Texas — Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of the top prospects in April's NFL Draft, is not practicing at the Shrine Bowl, and the teams with the top three picks asked him not to, a source told Yahoo Sports.
The Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants own the first three picks of this spring's draft, and they're each entertaining the idea of taking him. Sanders had meetings with all three teams Friday prior to practices starting Saturday for draft prospects.
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is not participating in today’s practice at the East-West Shrine Bowl 👀 @Rivals | @CUSportsNation pic.twitter.com/gTc2N1q1x6
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 25, 2025
Sanders and his quarterback coach decided a week ago not to participate in Shrine Bowl practices, the source said. Friday's meetings with the top three teams only strengthened that decision.
(Editor's note: The initial version of the story said Sanders decided not to practice because of the team meetings on Friday before further clarification.)
Sanders is widely viewed as one of the top two quarterback prospects in this class, along with Miami's Cam Ward. He raised his draft stock with his play this past season, leading Colorado to a 9-4 record and the Alamo Bowl, where the Buffaloes lost to BYU.
His father, Deion, is Colorado's head coach and has been outspoken about his son, but the source says NFL teams are not worried about his involvement.
Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice lauded Sanders' traits in his midseason big board:
Sanders has improved on his play this season, especially with his feel in the pocket and the timing that he plays with on concepts. Sanders is tough, has a good arm, and is more than willing to challenge defenders on tougher throws like in-breakers over the middle. When in rhythm, he can let his pass catchers thrive because of his friendly ball placement. Sanders has below-average size and is just an adequate athlete, which shows up when asked to create, but his markedly better pocket movement (although he still has a tendency to drift backward, his sack rate has cut drastically) combined with his arm strength has really solidified his prospect profile.
The East-West Shrine Bowl is an annual postseason college football all-star game where draft prospects participate, with multiple different host areas over the years.
