Shedeur Sanders Sits Out Shrine Bowl Practices, Sparking Speculation

It’s the week for college football all-star games, as hundreds of hopeful NFL Draft prospects showcase their talents at the East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas and the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Practices have been underway all week, but perhaps the most notable player at either game has not taken the field: Shedeur Sanders, the former Colorado quarterback who could be selected No. 1 in April’s draft.

Sanders is at the Shrine Bowl, but he won’t play in Thursday night’s game at AT&T Stadium on NFL Network, and opted to not practice this week, either. That’s been a point of contention for some, with varying reports about why Sanders wasn’t taking the field.

Eric Galko, the Shrine Bowl’s director of football operations and player personnel, isn’t bothered by the noise. “We don’t pressure guys to play if they don’t feel comfortable, if they don’t feel healthy, or for whatever reason it may be,” he tells Front Office Sports. “We want guys to practice, and certainly it looks great. But we’re not going to pressure guys.”

Notably, Sanders said he is unsure whether he will throw at next month’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Colorado hasn’t released a date for its pro day, which will likely be held in March.

Game-Time Decision?

One of the theories for Sanders sticking to the sidelines this week was the Titans, Browns, and Giants—who own the first three picks in the NFL Draft—asked Sanders not to practice, according to Yahoo Sports. 

Another one suggested Sanders agreed to show up in Dallas in exchange for the Shrine Bowl also inviting some of his Colorado teammates (there are seven total there) who otherwise wouldn’t have been there. “He was there basically as a deal made with the East-West Shrine game to help get a lot of their late-round/free-agent prospects from Colorado to be a part of that bowl, and give them an opportunity,” Todd McShay, the former ESPN NFL Draft analyst, said on a recent episode of his podcast at The Ringer.

Galko refutes both of those notions, saying he was informed about a week before Shrine Bowl practices began that Sanders was considering not taking the field. “There was no deal made,” he says.

“It would have been great if he practiced, for sure,” Galko adds. “But him not practicing does not mean that it was all preordained. That was a new development and we still support Shedeur. I think I understand why he made his decision, and we’re still happy he’s here.”