Ever since his days back in Colorado, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders had been hyped as a surefire first-rounder. Even a potential top-five pick. So when draft night came and he slipped all the way to Round 5, pick No. 144, the football world was left scratching its head. And now, a Cleveland radio host thinks he knows why, but Deion Sanders Jr. isn’t having any of it.

The Cleveland 92.3 The Fan host Anthony Lima floated a theory that Shedeur’s tumble down the draft board had a lot to do with him skipping out on the East-West Shrine Bowl. That didn’t sit well with Coach Prime’s son. “That’s a lie. Ask Eric Galko, he runs the Shrine Bowl. Boyz sit there & ignore all the lies y’all say, but sometimes y’all just go toooooo crazy,” Sanders Jr. wrote on X.

For context, Eric Galko is the director of football operations for the Shrine Bowl, one of the premier all-star showcases for NFL hopefuls looking to boost their draft stock. So yes, Shedeur’s absence from the field has been a hot topic for quite a while now.

“The whole thing started to fall apart when he went to the Shrine Bowl. And two days before the Shrine Bowl started, everyone expected him to play; they had his gear there, his stuff there. He shows up all of a sudden, nope, not doing anything, and then he makes up this stuff about the Browns and the Giants telling him to not work out or something,” Lima said.

“So the whole thing unravels from there. Like, why are you not trying to compete?…We see 10 guys every year that go there as fifth or sixth round guys, and they come out as top 60 guys…So I think that everybody should compete,” he added. So, what really happened with Shedeur Sanders at the Shrine Bowl?

Shedeur Sanders and the Shrine Bowl saga

Back in January, as the event kicked off in Texas, Sanders was indeed there. But he didn’t suit up for a single game and didn’t even practice throughout the week. It caused a bit of a stir, especially considering that at the time, he was viewed as a potential No. 1 overall selection. By everyone, really.

Eric Galko opted not to make a big deal out of it. “We don’t pressure guys to play if they don’t feel comfortable, if they don’t feel healthy, or for whatever reason it may be. We want guys to practice, and certainly it looks great. But we’re not going to pressure guys,” he said.

Sanders did use the opportunity to meet with teams, though. He revealed that he ended up sitting down with the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Cleveland Browns, all of whom held top-three picks in that draft.

There was even some chatter that Shedeur’s presence in Dallas came with a condition, that the Shrine Bowl also invite a few of his Colorado teammates who might not have gotten the nod otherwise. In total, seven Buffaloes ended up at the event. Still, Galko downplayed the controversy.

“It would have been great if he practiced, for sure,” Galko added. “But him not practicing does not mean that it was all preordained. That was a new development and we still support Shedeur. I think I understand why he made his decision, and we’re still happy he’s here,” he said.

In the end, though, it’s hard not to wonder if things might have played out differently. Had Sanders taken the field and thrown a few passes, maybe the narrative around him would have shifted. And maybe his draft position does too. Given how thin this year’s draft class was at quarterback, it’s fair to think Shedeur Sanders could’ve landed in a much better spot.