Deion Sanders has not been spotted at any Cleveland Browns practices since his son Shedeur joined the team, and the quarterback says that is by design.
Shedeur said recently that he does not want his father attending any practices ahead of the former Colorado star’s rookie season. A reporter asked Shedeur on Monday why he would prefer for Deion to stay away, and the quarterback said he does not see the use in his father watching him take “a couple reps” in practice.
“I look at it from my own point of view. I don’t want him coming to see me right now because I want to get to where I want to go then for him to see me,” Shedeur said. “I don’t want him to come and see me get a couple reps and he’s cheering like a good dad. Nah, you can’t be proud of me right now. I gotta get to where I’m going and I know there’s a lot I got to do to get there.”
Sanders also said he knows how the media would react to his dad being at practice, and he does not want to be responsible for any distractions ahead of the season.
“I just want everything that I’m doing to focus on this time and I don’t want no distractions,” Sanders added. “We know how the media and how everybody would take it and take it away from the team, just from him being my own dad and showing up. It’s a gift and a curse at the same time.”
#Browns Shedeur Sanders on why he doesn’t want his dad Deion to come to practice yet: pic.twitter.com/wGVa5M9e2R
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 4, 2025
Of course, Deion has been dealing with some significant health issues this offseason, so it’s possible spending time in Cleveland was out of the question.
The Browns drafted Shedeur in the fifth round, which stunned a lot of people after they took former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel two rounds prior. While Cleveland is supposedly holding an open QB competition in training camp between Sanders, Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, it seems like one of the four is a strong favorite to win the Week 1 job.
