Todd Monken to Shedeur Sanders: ‘We tried to draft’ you last year; ‘It’s all worked out’

“We tried to draft your a– last year for God’s sakes,” Monken said when he met Sanders. “It’s all worked out. Do you remember that?”

Sanders certainly remembers it well.

His Hall of Fame dad, Deion Sanders, who came out of retirement at the age of 37 to play for the Ravens in 2004 and 2005 after a four-year hiatus and knows former Ravens GM and current personnel executive Ozzie Newsome, confirmed it to Cleveland Heights natives Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on their popular New Heights podcast in Septermber.

“Because this was all over the media, because I know y’all keep it above … let me tell you something,” Deion told the Kelce brothers. “How in the world, they made a big deal out of — Philly called us on draft day. They didn’t mention that. I just let a cat out of the bag. OK, who was it? Baltimore and the Browns. They forget, you know I played for Baltimore, so me and Ozzie are cool.

“So he understood that whole conversation, and he wanted to talk to Shedeur as well as he wanted to talk to me. And I put Shedeur on the phone, and Shedeur — I don’t want to say how it went — but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar (Jackson) for 10 more years?’ Like who comes in with that mindset?”

Deion, the Hall of Fame cornerback and multi-purpose star, also questioned those who ripped Shedeur for not wanting to languish behind the two-time NFL MVP quarterback for the next decade.

“Where did these guys come from that sit on these platforms and say, ‘Oh, you should have sat him behind and learned the game, and then when they develop … when did the pros ever develop anybody? By the time you get to the NFL, they expect you to know what you need to do and to do it, or somebody else is going to get in there and do it. Now, they teach you their playbook, but development and teaching … please.”

The Kelces agreed that they both learned by getting thrown into the fire, and Deion reinforced it.

“I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today,’” Deion said. “Who learns sitting on the bench? Who does that?”

Sanders didn’t have to find that out, at least not in second half of the season when he landed the starting job in Week 12 after Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett had been traded, and Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. Supported by the Browns’ dominant defense, Sanders went 3-4 down the stretch despite never getting a rep with the first team offense until the week leading up to his first start.

He finished the season with back-to-back victories over the Steelers and Bengals, leading the Browns on the gamewinning field goal march with 1:29 left in Cincinnati and setting Andre Szmyt up for the gamewinning 49-yard kick as time expired. Sanders didn’t finish with stellar stats (56.6 completion percentage, 7 TDs, 10 INTs, 68.1 rating), but the Browns were encouraged by his growth throughout the season, especially considering he had mostly backups along the offense line, and at many of the skill positions.

The belief is that Sanders will fare much better with a whole offseason in the program, and with his first reps with the starters in training camp if Monken views him as a potential quality starter.

A former college quarterback and longtime offensive coordinator, Monken has Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel in the quarterback room, but can also urge the Browns to draft a quarterback or acquire a veteran if he feels the need.

For now, he’s gathering as much information as possible, enjoying his first day in the office.

“It’s surreal,” Monken said as he arrived at team headquarters. “It’s everything you work for your whole career. It’s why I came back to the NFL.”