Shedeur Sanders is in Baltimore. Only for a quick minute for the Week 2 game, though. But back in April, the Colorado product actually had a shot to slide into the Ravens‘ quarterback room alongside Lamar Jackson and Cooper Rush. It sounds tempting to us, but not to Shedeur. Because the now Browns‘ QB passed on it. Why? Because he didn’t want to sit behind Lamar, a two-time MVP, who’s not just the present but pretty much locked in as the future of Baltimore.

When the news broke that Shedeur didn’t want to play for the Ravens, the NFL legends found his decision insane. Leading the chorus was the former QB, Alex Smith. “I think this is insane, right?” Smith said. “Like, if this is true, I think this is crazy, right? At this point, you’re in the fifth round. I understand you had higher hopes, but you’ve dropped to the fifth round, and you’re thinking about being a starting quarterback the next year? I think this is short-sighted.”

First, the news broke at the time when the Ravens were hosting the Browns for a Week 2 showdown. Second, Smith argues that Shedeur should have gone for an organization that has a track record of developing quarterbacks, not for one that has never developed a quarterback in decades. “Like, if you’re in this situation, you want to go to an organization that is going to develop you, right?” The NFL legend added.

“Here, you have the Baltimore Ravens, the model of stability in the NFL. This regime has been together for how many decades now, and actually has a track record to develop quarterbacks. Joe Flacco, Lamar, right? Instead, you choose the Cleveland Browns because you think you have a chance to start the next year.” Alex Smith knows a thing or two about quarterbacking in the NFL. So, there’s no denying that the NFL legend found Shedeur’s decision to ditch the Ravens absurd.

The Ravens’ current regime has been serving the team for decades now. Take the GM, for instance, Eic DeCosta. He’s been with the Baltimore team since day one (1996) and then became the GM back in 2019. John Harbaugh? He’s been the head coach since 2008. Under his leadership, Flacco hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, a feat that Lamar Jackson is now expected to accomplish.

The Browns, on the other hand, are a revolving door of HCs and QBs. Kevin Stefanski happened to be the longest-running HC since the franchise’s return, and Joe Flacco happened to become the team’s QB1 for the second time in three seasons. So, here’s how things went down. Just before the Ravens vs. Browns clash, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Ravens planned to pick Shedeur in the fifth round with the 141st overall pick.

However, Shedeur made it known that he didn’t want to play for the Ravens, where he’d be a backup to Lamar. Three picks later, as the Sanders family, Colorado, and the football world watched, the Browns eventually picked him with the 144th overall pick. While Shilo Sanders joined his little brother in a celebration dance at that time, sure. But fast forward to know, the Browns have reached Baltimore, but Shedeur Sanders is still on the sidelines.

And let’s just say, Smith isn’t the only one who found this shocking; others are in the mix as well.

Shedeur Sanders’ decision had everyone talking about his dad

A quarterback denying to play for a team? That’s the script we’ve seen before. John Elway in 1983 and Eli Manning in 2004. The Baltimore Colts drafted Elway, but Elway refused to play there. The result? He forced a trade to the Broncos and went on to win a couple of Super Bowls in his final two seasons.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers drafted Manning in 2004, but Eli and Archie Manning weren’t having it. They straight-up told the Chargers that Eli won’t play there. The Chargers had to trade Eli anyway, and the rest is history. But when we talk about Shedeur Sanders, the rookie had a totally different case. He was not a first-rounder, though his dad, Deion Sanders, thought so in the beginning.

So, when the news broke that Shedeur didn’t want to play for the Ravens, Breiden Fehoko claimed that Coach Prime could be ashamed of himself because of Shedeur’s decision. “Deion outta be ashamed of himself boy. He had this app really arguing that the NFL was blackballing the kid,” he shared via a post on ‘X’. Ahead of the 2025 NFL draft, Deion Sanders predicted that his son would be the top 5 pick in April.

But when the draft week came in, the story flipped on its head—completely opposite of what the Sanders family had in mind. So yeah, Shedeur slipping to the fifth round with the Ravens knocking and still saying no? That’s the kind of move that gets everybody talking. And you can bet even NFL vet Ryan Fitzpatrick had something to say about it. “I guess there’s a first time for everything…never heard of a fifth round draft pick telling teams no I’d rather not play on your team,” he wrote. Indeed.

But at the end of the day, the truth is that Shedeur Sanders is now buried deep into the Browns’ quarterback room. While some might argue, for the time being, it’s unlikely for him to start in his rookie season. Of course, unless Flacco went down with an injury.