Deion Sanders has entered the chat.
The Colorado Buffaloes coach showed love for ESPN star and vocal Shedeur Sanders proponent Mel Kiper Jr. on Thursday after the draft analyst’s war of words wšith Miami football coach Mašrio Cristobal boiled over this week.
“But I Love u my man! You stood on the desk with great balance 10 toes down and said what u doggone said & didnāt flinch. You knew what time it was my man & weāre blessed to be right where God wanted us to be. ‘With OPPORTUNITY’ they forgot I was in the tv/entertainment business for 20 years before coaching,” .
The 57-year-old Sanders was responding to , who hit back at Cristobal for comments made about the 2025 NFL Draft process, in which the coach said he spoke with an estimated “million people” about former Miami quarterback Cam Ward ā the No. 1 overall selection by the Titans ā .
“Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didnāt speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts. Interesting isnāt it. And oh by the way, I didnāt speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense,” Kiper wrote.
Kiper’s passion for the 23-year-old Shedeur was on full display during last month’s NFL draft, when the polarizing prospect stunningly slid to the fifth round and was selected No. 144 overall by the Browns.
Although Ward landing with the Titans had long been a lock, much of Kiper’s draft commentary was centered on Shedeur, even after the Giants ā who had done the most homework on Sanders’ son ā traded back into the first round to select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart at No. 25 overall.
āSurprised he went ahšead of Shedeur, not shocked, beź¦cause [coach Brian] Daboll wants mobility,ā Kiper said at the time.
In the days following the draft, Kiper said he wasn’t privy to the online chatter centered on his Shedeur-heavy commentary.
“I didnāt even know about it,ā on āThe Adam Schefter Podcast” in late April. āI was told, [ESPN vice president and executive producer] Seth Markman comes in and says, āMel, youāre trending on Twitter.ā I donāt know what they said, I kind of believe it wasnāt nice, but I didnāt read one of them, but I was told I was trending over Shedeur Sanders.”
With the late-round addition of Shedeur, the Browns entered spring practices with five quarterbacks ā four if you omit ailing starter Deshaun Watson, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, putź¦”ting his 2025 availability into question.
He’ll compete for the starting job alongside Joe Flacco, now on his second stint in Cleveland, former Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, taken No. 94 overall by the Browns in the third round.
“I feel like the Browns fans they just want something to hope for and theyāve been wanting it so long and long,ā āAnd finally, Iām here to change that, Iām here to actually get what they want.”
Shedeur will likely see some preseason action this summer before the Browns’ opener on Sept. 7, when Cleveland hosts AFC North rival Cincinnati.
