Browns' Shedeur Sanders neither confirms, denies interesting Ravens report

Before the Cleveland Browns fell to 0-2 on the season via a 41-17 loss at the rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, ESPN's Adam Schefter shared that the Ravens wanted to select Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the 141st pick of the 2025 NFL Draft before they learned that Sanders didn't want to go a team where he'd be backing up two-time MVP Lamar Jackson.

Following Sunday's game, Sanders neither confirmed nor denied the details of Schefter's report. 

Shedeur Sanders no longer focused on the past

"My response is I’m focused on the now," Sanders explained, per Jeff Zrebiec and Zac Jackson of The Athletic. "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 focused on this game we just had and figuring out how to move forward from that."

Mock drafts published throughout the winter and early spring projected that Sanders would be a first-round pick, but that was before stories noted that his alleged handling of the predraft process hurt his stock. One previous story claimed that Sanders bombed a predraft visit with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll.

The Giants ultimately made quarterback Jaxson Dart the 25th overall pick of this year's draft, and Cleveland took signal-caller Dillon Gabriel in the third round (selection No. 94). Some outsiders remain convinced that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam essentially forced Sanders on general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, but Haslam and Berry have both poured cold water over such takes. 

Shedeur Sanders' 24-hour rule

"You wouldn’t believe my memory don’t even go back that far," Sanders added. "I don’t remember anything (pre) draft. I remember I’m here, I go to practice every day and there’s a 24-hour rule."

While Sanders was third on the depth chart for Cleveland's opening two losses of the season, Gabriel made his official NFL debut in Baltimore and tossed his first touchdown pass as a pro late in that game. Earlier this month, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that Sanders likely won't face a live defense in a meaningful game this season "unless things get really weird" for the Browns. 

As of Monday morning, ESPN BET had Cleveland as an 8.5-point home underdog for this coming Sunday's game against the 2-0 Green Bay Packers. Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco is on track to start for the Browns versus the Packers, and Gabriel will almost certainly be Flacco's primary backup for that matchup.