Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders broke away from his offseason training in order to attend his graduation ceremony from the University of Colorado. He finished with a degree in sociology and graduated with a 3.9 GPA.
Sanders left the school a year ago to enter the NFL draft. While playing for the Browns as a rookie in 2025, Sanders balanced his day job with studies so that he could walk with his normal graduating class.
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Sanders is about to enter his second season with Cleveland in a QB room that includes veteran Deshaun Watson, fellow 2025 draft class member Dillion Gabriel, and newly drafted Taylen Green out of Arkansas. Most NFL depth charts have either Watson or Sanders penciled in as the starter.
But on May 2nd, Sanders returned to the place that made him a star in college football. His father, Deion Sanders, is the head coach at Colorado. Before the younger Sanders put on his cap and gown, he gave a nod to his dad with the way he laid out his graduation fit.
It is not unusual for college athletes to forego a season and enter the professional ranks. It is not unusual for many of these players to eventually finish out their degrees. What is unusual, however, is for any pro player to complete their final year in a full calendar year instead of stringing out their studies for 2-3 years instead.
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While Sanders (6’-2”, 212 pounds) was the starting QB at Colorado, the team went 4-8-0 and then improved to 9-4-0. At season’s end, they competed in the Alamo Bowl, a 36-14 loss.
Sanders led the nation in completion percentage with 71.8%. In his final season, he started all 13 games, had 353 completions on 477 attempts with 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions, and a QB rating of 168.2. He was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was the winner of the Unitas Golden Arm Award. The school retired his #2 jersey.
After being selected in the fifth round, Sanders began his rookie year as QB3. In Week 11, he started against the Baltimore Ravens, a 23-16 loss. He then started the remaining games on the schedule as he went 3-5-0 down the stretch, including winning the final two games.
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His rookie stats include: 120 completions on 212 attempts for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 56.6% completion ratio, 6.6 yards per completion average, 68.1 QB rating, and 21 rushing attempts for 164 yards with a single TD. He was named an alternate at the Pro Bowl and then was added to the roster to replace QB Drake Maye.
This year, he is in the mix to continue being the starting QB. His main competitor is Watson, who was a star player when he first arrived in the league and was named to three Pro Bowls. But his time with Cleveland has been tainted with injuries, poor play, and distrust from the Browns fanbase.
In Cleveland’s recent voluntary mini-camp, Watson has been reported as the emerging top candidate to win the starting nod. It is probably a two-man race.
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The Browns have re-done their offensive line during free agency and in April’s NFL draft. In that event, two key receivers were drafted high, which changes the narrative in that group as well.
For now, Sanders walked with his graduating class and can now boast he is a college graduate with a degree. Good for you, son.
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