Shedeur Sanders might be standing at the threshold of finally being able to live his dream in the NFL. Joe Flacco’s benching looks imminent after his lacklustre performance against the Lions. Sanders’ future now resembles the will-he-won’t-he trope. It all depends on Kevin Stefanski, of course. But dad Deion Sanders now seems to have taken his hand off of his son’s head. It’s a tough decision, but definitely needed for the rookie’s best.

As long as Shedeur Sanders played in college, under the guidance of Deion as coach, he was guaranteed to make a mark. Good or bad, he would at least get to step foot on that stage and participate. But now that he’s moved on to the pro league, things work differently. Deion Sanders has long advocated for his son as he made the transition to the NFL. He’s even beaten down critics when they came for Shedeur. But despite officially beginning his NFL career, he’s already created a name for himself. Now that he’s nearing the most important moment of his career, Deion Sanders is choosing not to get involved.

Joe Flacco threw 2 interceptions and had one fumble against the Lions last Sunday. And all the noise around the Browns suggests that Flacco may be dropped as the starting QB for the next match. And that means, Shedeur Sanders has a chance to get more playing time. When asked about this possible reshuffle in a September 30 episode of Positively Raw, Deion Sanders didn’t want to jinx such a huge moment. “I really have no comment in regards to that. Because, you know, we going to go viral. And, you know, it’s going to go back to Shedeur,” he said.

That’s not coach speak. That’s a dad looking out for his son. Anything and everything Deion Sanders says about Shedeur inadvertently tags itself onto the young QB’s image. “I don’t want it affecting and hurting Shedeur with the thing, with my honest truth and assessment. So, I’m going to take the back seat on that one,” he added with a wistful smile. Coach Prime and Shedeur have learnt the hard way when it comes to this. They’re both very public figures after all. Deion Sanders will have to reserve the advice sharing and other talk for private conversations. Shedeur Sanders is rarely seen in a positive light by fans. Ever since his draft stocks tanked after Day 1, he’s yet to be cut some slack.

But Shedeur Sanders might prove to be of some really good use to Kevin Stefanski. He performed decently during the preseason show, having hauled in 152 yards, a 58.6% completion rate, and 2 TDs. He threw zero picks, but did get sacked 7 times. Shedeur is still a question mark for the Browns, but he’ll at least try to answer it with something on the ground. All of this hinges on what Cleveland does with Joe Flacco. Though he’s failed to impress, Deion Sanders added a kind word for him.

Deion Sanders sends his love to Joe Flacco after Detroit’s loss

“I got love for Joe Flacco, man,” Sanders said in the episode. The troubled QB will want all of that support, considering the vehement trolls coming his way for his turnout so far. “I think he truly presented them with the best opportunity to win early on, because he don’t make many mistakes,” he added. Flacco has thrown 5 interceptions so far this season, in just 4 games. At the beginning of the game, however, it didn’t look like he was going to add to it.

Flacco went 5-for-5 in the 1 quarter, and RB Quinshon Judkins sparked hope after a TD in the beginning. But then came the veteran QB’s 1 INT of the night. He was hoping to connect with a receiver when he threw on a third down in the Browns’ second drive. Unfortunately, Detroit’s Kirby Joseph made the catch instead, which ultimately led to a field goal. After that, the Cleveland offense failed to find a spark. Joe Flacco was also replaced by rookie Dillon Gabriel towards the latter part of the game, but the game was pretty much over by then.

Shedeur Sanders can see a doorway opening soon if Flacco gets benched. That would push Dillon Gabriel up to No. 1. And Sanders can finally become ‘active’ when he transitions into a backup QB from being on emergency duty. He knows this is his time. “I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” he said recently. If and when this happens, he will definitely not want untoward attention on him because of what Deion Sanders said about his situation.