Shedeur Sanders focuses on the NFL rookie season amid his father's cancer battle
TOI World Desk | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Aug 05, 2025, 23:13 IST
( Image credit : AP )
Shedeur Sanders is preparing for his first NFL season with the Cleveland Browns. His father, Deion Sanders, is battling cancer. Deion had bladder removal surgery. Shedeur focuses on football, as his father wishes. He was drafted in the fifth round. The Browns are easing him into the NFL. He is determined to prove himself. He does not want distractions.
Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has remained focused on preparing for his first NFL season, even as his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, battles a serious health condition.
Speaking to reporters Monday for the first time since Deion Sanders revealed he underwent bladder removal surgery to treat an aggressive form of cancer, Shedeur emphasized that his father encouraged him to stay mentally strong and concentrate on football.
“Dad, he’s one person that he’ll handle his, we handle what we’ve got to do,” Sanders said. “It was like, ‘Y’all need to focus on what y’all can focus on. Y’all can’t sit here and feel sorry for me, and then that’s affecting y’all.’”
Deion Sanders, head coach at the University of Colorado and known as “Coach Prime,” announced on July 28 that doctors removed his bladder in an effort to prevent the spread of cancer. Shedeur, 22, said his father’s resilience influenced how he handled the emotional toll during a pivotal time in his own career.
“You’ve got to be some type of human at some point in the way I’m doing everything and how I’m handling everything that’s thrown at me,” Sanders said. “You’ve got no choice but to applaud that.”
Shedeur Sanders was selected 144th overall in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, following speculation earlier in the year that he could be a first-round pick. Despite the unexpected slide, he has approached his first training camp with a calm, workmanlike mindset.
The Browns are easing Sanders into the NFL, with veteran quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett currently leading the quarterback competition. Sanders has primarily taken second- and third-team snaps during training camp. Third-round pick Dillon Gabriel is also in the mix, though both he and Pickett have recently dealt with hamstring injuries.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees have yet to finalize quarterback rotations for Wednesday’s joint practice with the Carolina Panthers or Friday’s preseason opener. Stefanski indicated that rookies like Sanders could see extended playing time.
“You’re obviously not wearing a red jersey, so you’re free game in those situations,” Stefanski said of preseason games. “Those are all things that we weigh as coaches trying to figure out what our team needs for a given season, for a given week.”
Sanders made one of the more notable plays during Monday’s practice, completing a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Luke Floriea on fourth-and-17 in a two-minute drill.
Although his father recently visited Shedeur’s brother, Shilo Sanders, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp, Shedeur has asked Deion not to visit him in Cleveland — yet.
“I don’t want him to come and see me get a couple of reps, and then he’s cheering like a good dad,” Sanders said. “Like, ‘Nah, you can’t be proud of me right now, I got to get to where I’m going.’ … I don’t want distractions.”
For Sanders, the early part of his professional journey has tested both his mental fortitude and physical readiness. But as he prepares to take his first snaps in a Browns uniform, he remains determined to prove himself on merit, not name.
“I just want everything that I’m doing to be focused on this time,” Sanders said. “And I don’t want distractions.”
Speaking to reporters Monday for the first time since Deion Sanders revealed he underwent bladder removal surgery to treat an aggressive form of cancer, Shedeur emphasized that his father encouraged him to stay mentally strong and concentrate on football.
“Dad, he’s one person that he’ll handle his, we handle what we’ve got to do,” Sanders said. “It was like, ‘Y’all need to focus on what y’all can focus on. Y’all can’t sit here and feel sorry for me, and then that’s affecting y’all.’”
Deion Sanders, head coach at the University of Colorado and known as “Coach Prime,” announced on July 28 that doctors removed his bladder in an effort to prevent the spread of cancer. Shedeur, 22, said his father’s resilience influenced how he handled the emotional toll during a pivotal time in his own career.
“You’ve got to be some type of human at some point in the way I’m doing everything and how I’m handling everything that’s thrown at me,” Sanders said. “You’ve got no choice but to applaud that.”
Shedeur Sanders was selected 144th overall in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, following speculation earlier in the year that he could be a first-round pick. Despite the unexpected slide, he has approached his first training camp with a calm, workmanlike mindset.
The Browns are easing Sanders into the NFL, with veteran quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett currently leading the quarterback competition. Sanders has primarily taken second- and third-team snaps during training camp. Third-round pick Dillon Gabriel is also in the mix, though both he and Pickett have recently dealt with hamstring injuries.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees have yet to finalize quarterback rotations for Wednesday’s joint practice with the Carolina Panthers or Friday’s preseason opener. Stefanski indicated that rookies like Sanders could see extended playing time.
“You’re obviously not wearing a red jersey, so you’re free game in those situations,” Stefanski said of preseason games. “Those are all things that we weigh as coaches trying to figure out what our team needs for a given season, for a given week.”
Sanders made one of the more notable plays during Monday’s practice, completing a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Luke Floriea on fourth-and-17 in a two-minute drill.
Although his father recently visited Shedeur’s brother, Shilo Sanders, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp, Shedeur has asked Deion not to visit him in Cleveland — yet.
“I don’t want him to come and see me get a couple of reps, and then he’s cheering like a good dad,” Sanders said. “Like, ‘Nah, you can’t be proud of me right now, I got to get to where I’m going.’ … I don’t want distractions.”
For Sanders, the early part of his professional journey has tested both his mental fortitude and physical readiness. But as he prepares to take his first snaps in a Browns uniform, he remains determined to prove himself on merit, not name.
“I just want everything that I’m doing to be focused on this time,” Sanders said. “And I don’t want distractions.”