Shedeur Sanders hasn't been in the spotlight this season due to the Browns' 3-1 start with Deshaun Watson as Cleveland's starter, and it sounds like he's fine with taking a backseat to media scrutiny for the first time in his career. In a wide-ranging interview this week with Cosmopolitan that was conducted earlier this summer, Sanders said he's still coming to grips with being routinely misjudged by the public. "I wish people understood me more as a human being," Sanders said.
"I don't think a lot of people really know me. I'm just now starting to understand that. You hear a lot of things online, but every encounter I have in person, people end up saying, 'Oh, wow, he's actually a great guy.' Why would you think I'm a bad guy?
"So I've been looking at things a lot more lately, like, 'Why would people think this?' It's not something I'm going to put (solely) on myself, but I do want to fix that. I want to connect with more people, so they can meet me and see the truth." Sanders told the magazine he "lives" in his own world and can't remember the last time he has looked at social media banter surrounding his play, Cleveland's quarterback situation or anything relating to football. The pre-draft experience for Sanders and his rollercoaster first 1.5 seasons in the NFL is well-documented.
His brother streamed much of his NFL Draft party in April 2025, which included the raw emotion and initial shock of being skipped over for Louisville's Tyler Shough at No. 40 overall in the second round, along with a prank call impersonating New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. Later came the reports of Sanders sandbagging certain interviews, deciding not to throw at the combine and how he handled the process, all directly affecting his draft slide. Sanders has tried to explain the misinterpretations surrounding him before.
Prior to his rookie season last fall in the NFL, Sanders attributed "99% of hatred" directed at him toward his father, Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. "I'm just his son, but (the kids) didn't grow up in an era to where they watched him play," Shedeur Sanders said during a 2025 interview with Cleveland.com after he was picked in the fifth round. "It's just the older generation that does it to me rather than the younger people.
Because when I come in person, there's no negativity I see. But it's all over online." While the Browns would reportedly "welcome a deal" for the right price involving Sanders or Dillon Gabriel since they have four quarterbacks on the roster, nothing appears imminent ahead of next month's NFL trade deadline. Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot said Thursday, "anything can happen over the next three weeks" before stressing the franchise would be okay with keeping its deep quarterback room as is.
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