Shedeur Sanders fell much further in the 2025 NFL Draft than he or most other people expected him to, but the quarterback apparently did not get to the point where he was willing to accept any job that was offered.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed on Sunday that the Baltimore Ravens wanted to draft Sanders in the fifth round earlier this year. The Ravens had the 141st overall pick, which was three spots before the Cleveland Browns took Sanders at No. 144 overall. Sanders did not want to play for Baltimore, however.
Schefter says the Ravens had “consensus” that they wanted to draft Sanders, but Sanders got word to the team that he did not want to be locked into a backup role behind Lamar Jackson.
“The Ravens were planning to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round with the 141st overall selection. When he found out, he got word back to the Ravens that he preferred not to go to a place where he would be competing and backing up Lamar Jackson,” Schefter said. “He wanted to be in a place that he could play. So when the Ravens got that message, they pivoted and went in a different direction with the 141st overall pick. Three picks later, the Cleveland Browns selected Shedeur Sanders…”
.@AdamSchefter reports the Ravens wanted to draft Shedeur Sanders, but he didn't want to go a place where "he'd be competing and backing up Lamar Jackson." 😯
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 14, 2025
The Sunday NFL Countdown crew debates if that was a smart decision 🧠 pic.twitter.com/SHNd6KzjR1
On one hand, you can understand why Sanders did not want to play for the Ravens. Barring a major injury, Lamar Jackson will likely be Baltimore’s starting quarterback for at least the better part of the next decade. There was no path to a starting job for Sanders with the Ravens.
But it was the fifth round.
Sanders had to have known at that point that he was not going to be given a legitimate chance at earning a starting job in 2025. Any team that viewed him as a starter in the near future would not have passed on him numerous times. Even the Browns selected Dillon Gabriel two rounds before they took Sanders.
Sanders received a notable demotion from the Browns prior to Week 2. While he still has a better chance of becoming a starter in Cleveland than he would in Baltimore with a healthy Jackson, it fair to wonder if saying “no, thank you” to the Ravens was the right choice for his career.
