The list of slights for rookie NFL quarterback Shedeur Sanders just continues to grow. First he dropped all the way into the fifth round (No. 144 overall) to the Cleveland Browns after being projected as the potential No. 1 overall pick ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, and now he's already being stalked by other lower leagues.
On Friday, NFL Media's Ian Rapaport revealed the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts have claimed the exclusive negotiating rights for the 23-year-old Cleveland passer if he were to ever consider crossing the Northern border.
The CFL allows teams to pick players outside the league they want to have exclusive access to if there were ever an opportunity to try and sign them to a contract. In layman's terms, they call first dibs on NFL rejects.
Shedeur Sanders has options if his NFL career doesn't pan out
The CFL's website listed Sanders among eight other notable low-caliber NFL players including QBs Max Duggan (Battlehawks - UFL), Trey Lance (Chargers), Ian Book (Chiefs), Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt - NCAA), Kedon Slovis (Texans), wide receiver Chase Claypool (Bills), defensive backs Sydney Brown (Eagles), Steven Gilmore (Stallions - UFL).
"Never say never," is how CFL writer Marshall Ferguson drew up the possibility of Sanders departing the NFL for Canada at some point.
He's not wrong. Sanders, despite his abilities and strong showing at Browns OTAs, already has problems off the field he's having to navigate. He was reportedly pulled over twice by law enforcement in the space of two weeks for speeding in his vehicle in June. In one instance he was clocked going over 100 miles per hour and he did not show up to his arraignment for the previous incident. That's not the kind of character an NFL team wants on its roster.
Should Sanders be beat out by any of the other four QBs Cleveland has on its roster (Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel) then he could very well be a beggar and not a chooser with regard to his football future.
Perhaps the CFL could be a blessing in disguise for the young Sanders and maybe a much-needed lesson in humility too.