BALTIMORE — Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders said he was unaware of a Sunday morning report that he told the Ravens not to draft him in the fifth round because he preferred to be on a roster that offered him a chance to play sooner.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Ravens planned to draft Sanders at No. 141 overall, but Sanders, according to sources, “let it be known to Baltimore that he didn’t want to be on a roster with Lamar Jackson, where he wouldn’t have a chance to play anytime soon.”
The Ravens selected tackle Carson Vinson with the pick.
Sanders was asked for a response to the report in the locker room following the Browns’ 41-17 loss to the Ravens.
“My response is I’m focused on the now,” Sanders said. “I don’t really talk about anything in the past and whatever happened in the past, it is what it is. I’m more focused on now and I’m more focused on this game we just had and figuring out how to move forward from that.”
When asked directly if the report was true, Sanders said, “I don’t know. You wouldn’t believe my memory don’t even go back that far. I don’t remember anything post-draft. I remember I’m here, I go to practice every day and there’s a 24-hour rule.”
The Browns traded their fifth- and sixth-round picks to Seattle to move up and acquire Sanders, three picks after the Ravens had reportedly planned to pick him. The move ended a surprising draft slide after his record-setting career at Colorado, where his father, Deion Sanders, coached him.
Some draft pundits projected Sanders as a potential first-round pick and, at worst, a Day 2 pick.
Sanders has been the Browns’ inactive third quarterback for the first two games of the season, after a four-man training camp battle in which he was the clear No. 4. He moved up to No. 3 after the Browns traded Kenny Pickett to the Raiders.
Fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, whom the Browns drafted in the third round, is the backup to Joe Flacco. Gabriel saw his first action on Sunday, when he led a touchdown drive in relief of Flacco on the Browns’ final possession of the game.
Sanders said he didn’t hear about the ESPN report until after the game.
“I didn’t even know about it (until) you told me,” he said.
Asked if he was surprised by the report, he said, “It don’t serve no purpose in my life.”
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