Giants Country

Deion Sanders Denies Son Shedeur Sanders Would Refuse to Play for Giants

Coach Prime has had enough and has taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to set the record straight.

Patricia Traina

Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders with son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium.
Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders with son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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NFL Hall of Fame legend and current Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders wants to set the record straight regarding his son’s NFL future.

Sanders, who has said in the past that he will intervene behind the scenes if the "wrong team" attempts to draft his son Shedeur, called reports of the younger Sanders refusing to play for the Giants or Cleveland Browns if drafted “a lie.”

The elder Sanders’s statement follows a report by the X account NFL Rookie Watch, which wrote that “there is reportedly a 'high likelihood' Sanders would refuse to play if he was drafted by either the Giants or Browns” and that the Giants would "settle" for Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

To be fair, Sanders is partially responsible for the reports swirling about where his son will and won’t play at the next level. 

He recently appeared at an event with Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Piece and told Pierce that he needed to “draft the Sanders boys” (Shedeur and Shilo). 

The Raiders currently hold the No. 1 overall pick in the draft ahead of the Giants with four games left to play, according to Tankathon.

The elder Sanders has also been very vocal about the type of situation he wants his son to land in, having said that he will step in if the wrong team drafts his son.

"I’m not going to do it publicly. I’m going to do it privately," Sanders said during a guest appearance on Speak when asked if he would try to influence where his son landed. 

Sanders didn’t name any NFL teams outright as ones where he’d intervene if they drafted his son, but he did outline some criteria he would like to see from the organization that does select Shedeur in the upcoming draft. 

"Somebody that can handle the quarterback that he is. Somebody that can handle understanding what he's capable of,” he said during the Spea interview. 

"Someone that has had success in the past handling quarterbacks or someone in an organization understands what they're doing, not just throwing you out there amongst the world [and] you don't have the support in the infrastructure of the team."

Sanders’s words have stirred up memories of the 2004 draft when Eli Manning was initially drafted first overall by the then San Diego Chargers who later traded him to the New York Giants after his father, Archie, expressed concerns over the state of the Chargers organization.  

dark. Next. 12/14: Malik Nabers Plays Catch with Shedeur Sanders. Giants WR Malik Nabers Connects with Shedeur Sanders for Friendly Game of Catch

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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