“In general, I always help [my kids] with anything they need, so I’m always around, trust me, in every area.” Over their years in Colorado, Pilar Sanders has shared multiple memories with her sons Shedeur and Shilo. However, her mere presence, despite initially having lost custody over them, mattered the most. In fact, the actress had a house rented right across the street from Shilo’s place just to be available whenever they needed her. No doubt why Shedeur had a simple “Yes, I have my mom,” reply when a fan asked him if he has a special woman in his life. And right now, the Browns’ rookie QB can certainly use some of that “help” from his mother.

Shedeur’s post-Buffs life has been nothing short of dramatic. First, he slid from a top 5 NFL Draft prospect to fifth day’s 144th pick. Although he shared a long, beautiful hug with Pilar and danced around with her and his sister Shelomi on getting finally drafted, things didn’t stop being challenging for him. Shedeur landed in Kevin Stefanski’s brimming QB room in Cleveland with four QBs to fight against for the top spot. And despite his fair performances in the OTAs and minicamps, many speculations rose– from him probably not getting on-field time with the first rounders to HC Stefanski probably cutting him by Week-1. 

The off-field drama isn’t limited either despite the rookie focusing solely on his NFL dream. So, although he is now in Ohio, the distance of over 600 miles from Cleveland to Normal, Alabama, where Pilar lives with Shelomi, doesn’t bother her. And amidst all the stress, Shedeur found his mother holding his hand once again.

This Monday, Pilar shared an Instagram story with two fishing stickers and wrote, “Any great fishing spot around Cleveland?” Her followers, of course, connected the dots that she’s basically settled into Cleveland life for Shedeur.

͏But͏ Pilar’s fishing po͏st re͏ally shows how mu͏ch ͏she’ll do ͏for her c͏hildr͏en. D͏espite a difficult ͏divorce fr͏om͏ Deion in 2013, both pa͏rents sho͏wed u͏p wh͏en Sh͏edeur watched draft unf͏old. In fact, Pilar Sanders found herself at a loss for words as her sons kicked off their NFL journeys. She took to Instagram to share a family snapshot that included her ex-husband Deion Sanders, their daughter Shelomi, and the newest additions to the Browns and Buccaneers.

In her heartfelt post, she wrote, “Two sons. One league. Greatness is in the bloodline. This is more than football—it’s a legendary legacy for the Headache Gang! Words cannot describe this feeling!” No matter how they got there, both Shedeur and Shilo are now pros. And while Pilar is looking set to help Shedeur in his tough times, he didn’t miss his chance to help her out either.

In May, Pilar shared an Instagram post showing how Shedeur too helped her when she needed mental relief. “As a mommy you never really know what sticks and what doesn’t until life starts lifing. One day Shedeur said come with me, I have a surprise! I said ok and he brought me to…” The clip continues sharing their time together at the Club Pilates Boulder, the place Shedeur brought Pilar to when they moved to Colorado. And same has been her story with Shilo.

You see, Shilo always craved his mother’s presence, admitting, “Not having my mom close by, it’s pretty different not having her close by.” But he chose distance anyway, stating in his first live stream from Tampa how he doesn’t miss his family, but does miss Pilar confessing, “I don’t have my mom around, y’all!”

But when one son pulls away, the other gets full attention. That’s exactly what’s happening now. With all the locker room drama swirling around Cleveland, Shedeur desperately needs his mom’s comfort now more than ever.

Shedeur’s talent meets reality in Cleveland’s crowded quarterback room

Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide to Cleveland turned into the perfect storm. The Colorado star crashed all the way to the fifth round when most had him pegged for the first. Now he’s landed with the only franchise desperate enough to actually start a fifth-rounder at quarterback. But Cleveland’s quarterback room is a disaster.

Joe Flacco is 40 years old and showing it. Kenny Pickett couldn’t cut it in Pittsburgh. Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel is just another third-round question mark. Sanders might be facing his biggest test yet, but he’s also got the clearest path to a starting job. His camp apparently misjudged how NFL scouts viewed him. Team͏s backed away͏ ͏quietly and when the Brow͏ns finally grabbed h͏im, nobody called it a steal.

GM Andrew Berry kept it real: “We felt like it wasn’t necessaril͏y t͏he pl͏an͏ going in͏to the weeken͏d to selec͏t two quar͏terbacks, but we do͏ believe in the b͏est player available, we͏ do believe͏ in posit͏ional value, an͏d we d͏idn’t neces͏sa͏rily exp͏ect ͏him ͏to be av͏ailable͏ in the ͏f͏ifth round.” Tran͏slati͏on͏? Sanders beca͏me a developme͏nt project͏, not a franchise savior. Cleveland treated him ͏l͏ike͏ w͏hat he ͏wa͏s—a fifth-rou͏nd flyer wort͏h t͏he ga͏mble.

͏Kevin Stefans͏ki͏ and the͏ coaching staff ͏sold S͏anders͏ as a developme͏n͏tal prosp͏ect successfully. Nick ͏Wilson of 92.3 The Fan noticed the narrative shift. “When͏ it͏ comes to S͏hedeur,” Wi͏lson n͏ot͏ed on Saturday, “I get he’s a fifth-r͏ound pick.͏ He’s a develop͏men͏ta͏l prospect. Some of t͏hat, ͏I thin͏k, he’͏s͏ ͏insincer͏e about,͏ but͏ ͏they’ve (the Browns͏) co͏nvinced peopl͏e that t͏his͏ is true.” The OTAs pr͏ove͏d this approach.

Sanders split reps equally with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookie Dillon Gabriel.͏ No͏ s͏pecial͏ treatm͏ent. No first-te͏am snaps dur͏ing͏ med͏ia sessions. Shedeur is really making waves in the Browns’ locker room, and that’s a great sign for his shot at leading the offense this season. If he stays focused and keeps up his good behavior, he’s almost guaranteed a spot on the team. That would bring him one step closer to getting his big break. And his mom will be right beside him. His biggest cheerleader!