Deion Sanders showed up at Browns camp this week. That was not allowed a year ago.
Shedeur Sanders famously kept his father away during his rookie season. “I don’t want him coming to see me right now because I want to get to where I want to go, then for him to see me,” the young quarterback said last summer. “You can’t be proud of me right now. I gotta get to where I’m going.” He also worried about the media circus Deion’s presence would create.
Fast forward to Day 2 of Browns camp in Berea, and the two embraced near the fieldhouse after practice. Deion offered encouragement to his son. He also spent time meeting with head coach Todd Monken and general manager Andrew Berry. Shedeur, meanwhile, took all the first-team reps while alternating with Deshaun Watson in the ongoing quarterback competition.
Monken called the conversation with Deion valuable. He said he gained insights into Shedeur’s personality and competitive drive. “That was Deion Sanders, are you kidding me?” the coach said, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “He did an unbelievable job with Shedeur. Great kid, obviously an elite football player.”
The visit signals a shift for Shedeur, who spent his rookie year trying to prove he could stand on his own without his Hall of Fame dad in the building. He wanted to earn his stripes independently. That plan mostly worked. Shedeur competed well as a rookie, learned the offense, and put himself in position to fight for the starting job in Year 2.
Now he seems ready to have his father around. Some of that is confidence. Some of it is comfort. And some of it is probably just that Deion’s schedule finally allowed for a visit. Coach Prime is still running Colorado in Boulder and does not have unlimited free time to hop over to Cleveland.
The Browns quarterback situation remains fluid. Shedeur is splitting first-team reps with Deshaun Watson, who is coming off an injury-plagued year and has not been able to shake the questions about his contract or his health. Kevin Stefanski and Monken have said the competition is real. Every day of camp is essentially an audition.
Sanders is making his case with strong practices and by looking more comfortable in the pocket. Watson is trying to hold onto a job that he was supposed to lock down years ago. Nobody is entirely sure how this plays out, but Cleveland is likely to lean on whichever quarterback proves more consistent through the preseason.
Deion’s presence, either way, is going to be part of the story. He is one of the most recognizable figures in the sport. He is going to have opinions. And he is going to have a stage to share them.
Shedeur seems ready for that now. A year ago he was not. That is called growing up.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
