Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, started his pro career with more hype than most rookies could hope for. Before the 2025 NFL Draft, everyone thought he’d be a first-round pick, and some even thought he could be in the top five. But when the big day finally came, he tumbled all the way to the fifth round, where the Cleveland Browns picked him up. It’s interesting because that drop might’ve made him more famous than being picked high would’ve.
While the other players got their moment, everyone kept talking about Sanders-why’s he still on the board, and who’s bold enough to grab him? The Browns took a chance on him, and now he’s in a tight race with veteran quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, plus rookie Dillon Gabriel, for the starting job. However, it is not his arm that has been the subject of recent headlines; rather, it is his lead foot.
Shedeur Sanders’ Speeding Problems
Sanders has had some problems since he moved to Cleveland. He got two speeding tickets in just a couple of months. First, on June 5, the Ohio State Highway Patrol caught him driving 91 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour zone in Brunswick Hills. Then, in the early hours of June 17, he was driving 101 miles per hour on 71 North-41 miles over the speed limit. To make matters worse, he didn’t go to court for the first ticket he got, which led to $269 in fees.
For a new player trying to secure a spot on the team, these aren’t just small mistakes-they’re red flags. Mike Tannenbaum, a former NFL general manager, talked about it on ESPN’s Get Up. Tannenbaum was with the Jets when they last won a playoff game, which was in 2010. Now, the Jets have the longest playoff drought in major American sports. He warned that Sanders’ behavior away from the field could cost him opportunities in training camp. This could even give an advantage to third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. “You’re the face of a $6 billion franchise,” Tannenbaum said.
“The way you act matters, both on the field and off it.” He added that GMs live by a rule: production justifies tolerance. The problem is that Sanders, who was selected in the fifth round and has never played in the NFL, hasn’t proven himself yet
Tannenbaum’s Take: Can Sanders Keep His Cool?
The Browns aren’t worried about it, at least not in public. A team representative told Cleveland.com that Sanders is “handling the tickets,” and his dad, Deion, has likely had a word too. It’s not like he robbed a bank. It’s just a couple of speeding tickets. Sure, he broke the law, but that’s not a big deal. What matters now is that he gets over it and focuses on football.
The quarterback room in Cleveland is a competitive group. Flacco has a lot of experience. Pickett is coming from a Super Bowl season and Gabriel, who has a lot of potential, was picked before him for a reason. Sanders can’t let this noise affect his performance. Training camp, which begins on July 18 for the rookies and July 22 for veterans, is where he’ll have one last time to show head coach, Kevin Stefanski, that he can lead the team.
Read the full article here
