CLEVELAND — Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said his son, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, went through hell during the 2025 NFL draft process and his rookie season. The remarks came in a podcast interview posted online Thursday.

"When he takes off his shirt, I see the scars on his back that he's been through hell, but he's made it through hell," Deion Sanders said. He added that his son had grown through the experience: "He kept going and he matured, not like he was a child, but he matured spiritually."

Shedeur Sanders had been considered a first-round prospect entering the 2025 NFL draft but fell to day three, when Cleveland selected him in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick. His father pushed back on coverage that preceded the selection.

"It was some ignorant things came out about him predraft and all that, and that was a lie," he said. He described his son's preparation habits in detail. "He would never go into a meeting with headphones on. He would never go into a meeting unprepared. There's no way he could accomplish the things he accomplished without being prepared."

He said negative reporting about his son continued after he arrived in Cleveland. "He just wanted the opportunity to get on the grass and do his thing," he said, adding, "You can't force this. If it ain't your time, it ain't your time."

As a rookie, Shedeur Sanders started seven games, completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, rushed for 169 yards and one touchdown, and earned a Pro Bowl invitation. Cleveland enters the offseason with four quarterbacks on the roster: Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Deshaun Watson, and 2026 sixth-round pick Taylen Green from Arkansas.

Deion Sanders said he wants to meet with new Browns coach Todd Monken to discuss his son's development. "I want to meet him because I think it's vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about [Shedeur], how to get him going," he said. He noted that no such conversation had taken place during the previous coaching staff's tenure: "That wasn't asked of me a year ago. I don't understand it."

Deion Sanders also said his older son, Shilo Sanders, defended his younger brother after a Browns beat writer suggested naming Watson as the starting quarterback.