The Josh Innes Show - Shedeur Sanders Stories Won't Go Away

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

If you thought the constant talk about Shedeur Sanders had ended, you thought wrong my friend. Some random Jamoke from the Browns has taken the #2 and this has caused some online drama. Also, we have another story from anonymous executives who weighed in on why Sanders wasn't drafted higher. I think the answer is obvious.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I thought we had gotten past the Shader Sanders stuff but apparently I guess these outlets are just going to run Shader Sanders stories every day because they know the entire internet universe will click on these stories because it's a sexy, divisive story. Now for the most part I think people have kind of gotten sick of it and I think it's kind of gone away but people are still using these in media outlets to try to get clicks. Now most recently, now the story is that Shider Sanders is going to be number 12 instead of number 2. And there's fun drama around that because this journeyman wide receiver who has

like like like nine catches last year, a guy named Deandre Carter, who's been in the league for like eight years, ain't done shit. Nobody even knows who he is. You couldn't pick him out of a lineup. DeAndre Carter chose the number two because veterans get the option to choose, I guess this is how it works. If you've been around longer, you get the first crack at a number. Now, generally speaking, there are times that dudes will hold a number hostage and get paid

for said number. That has happened before. We hear stories about that. So maybe that's what DeAndre Carter is doing and if so it's a shrewd business move. You can't sit there and blow the Sanders family for being great marketers and great business people and then not give DeAndre Carter his flowers for taking the number that your boy had when he was in high school and in college knowing that he wanted to build his whole thing around this and then taking the number is brilliant and maybe, just maybe, that's going to make him some cash down the road because

maybe as the season gets closer, maybe Shadurah Sanders will go, all right, how much you want? What do we have to pay you? What does the family have to pay to get number two? What do we have to do to get the number that Shadour has had in high school and college? What do we have to pay DeAndre Carter, random journeyman from Sacramento State that nobody fucking knows? Like it's brilliant. Good for him. If we're going to sit here and like fawn over dudes for creating slogans before they've ever done anything, if we want to blow Sh Shider Sanders for being legendary and all this

shit, then guess what? Good for DeAndre Carter, journeyman wide receiver saying, hey, watch this. I'm taking your fucking number, you putz. Let's go. Now, that's probably not a good way to get any balls thrown your way, but we don't even know that Shider Sanders is going to fucking play. That's the beauty of this. We don't even know if the guy makes the team. He was a fifth round pick. Of course, he's going to have to or it's gonna, like if you're Cleveland, you can't pay a billion dollars to the dude that's the serial predator, allegedly,

and then cut the dude that like is everybody's online hero. So I think he's probably safe, although, I mean, I don't know. But what I love about this is good for that dude. That's a solid strategy, man. Cause you know what, that number, like I would ask him what that number's worth to you, dog. And maybe they already did. And maybe he already talked to him and said,

you want the number? I want 100,000. And they said, go fuck yourself. Or I want 200,000. And they said, go fuck yourself. So now he's number 12. That's fine. But that's a smart move by that dude.

Good for him. Again, you may not catch any balls from Shudder Sanders, but may not have to because he may not even fucking play and you may not even fucking play. But why not make a buck? People like when these dudes are in the league bouncing around eight, nine years and they're pros and they've been around and they see some dude coming in here who ain't even really all that good swinging his dick around, I think people want to put you in your place and that's kind of the way of the world. So there was one story and I don't know the way of the world. So there was one story and I don't know how true it was or not but there was something floating around that the

Sanders people were super fucking pissed off about this whole thing which I'm sure they are because they're trying to build a brand and that I think is what you've run into here is I think teams have viewed Chaudhuri Sanders and his family and his people as people who would rather build a brand, become this big brand figure than really concerned about how good of a football player he's going to be. I mean, it's fucking obvious, right? Like the dude's got some talent. He doesn't suck by any means. He's fine. But like, I don't think anybody, if his name was Chauder Jones, nobody would have looked twice at the dude. But because he's

Deion Sanders' kid and Deion built this hype machine and Deion convinced the whole world that his kid's the greatest quarterback ever, they have been able to convince some dipshits on the internet for whatever reason that this dude was great. He was also able to convince a lot of NFL media people and scouts. I mean, it's dude, it is so fucking wild, not even scout so much, but NFL media people who fell in line with this shit. It is, it's just wild is what this is. But that's what Dion was able to do. So basically what you've got is a giant brand that is far larger than the dude's actual

skills. And if I were an NFL team, I don't want to deal with some dude who thinks he's some big brand legendary and bitching over a fucking number and this is all they're concerned about. Daddy's mad about this. NFL teams don't want to fuck with this stuff. It isn't hard. They don't want baggage, particularly if you're not good enough to warrant the baggage. If you're fucking good, they'll deal with baggage. But eventually they hit a point where they're like, we've had a fucking enough. We don't want

to deal with the drama that comes along with you. We don't want to deal with your dad. We don't want to deal with any of this stuff. So let me play a few commercials. We have another thing here, a Jared Bell column that says, exclusive, why did Chedur Sandor slide and draft NFL team execs give blunt views? We will do that here in just a sec. All right, if you're ready to win some real cash during the basketball playoffs, you got to check out Pick Six from Draft

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including New York and Ontario. Voidware prohibited. One per new customer. Bonus award. It is non-withdrawable Picks 6 credits that expire in 14 days. Limited time offer. See terms at picksix.draftkings.com slash promos. All right. So why did Chedur Sandor slide in the draft? Well, I don't really need an NFL executive to tell me why. People don't want to deal with the baggage. We just said it.

I'm not an NFL executive, and I can tell you. They don't want to deal with the baggage, don't want to deal with his dad. They question whether or not he's into football versus being famous and building a brand, and they don't think he's that good. It's not difficult, but let's see what the NFL team execs say in this exclusive. Listen to some of the key voices from inside NFL draft war rooms. Let them tell us why

should Err Sanders, projected by plug-in analysts as surefire first round pick, became the man with arguably the most precipitous slide in draft history. What the heck happened? The former Colorado quarterback, son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, lasted until the fifth round when the the most precipitous slide in draft history. What the heck happened? The former Colorado quarterback son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders lasted until the fifth round when the Browns drafted him with the 144th overall pick. Quote, it's strictly a football decision, contended a high ranking decision maker for an NFL team. I think his dad's involvement hurt him, a high level executive from another team maintained. Some of the things his dad said, I think his dad's involvement hurt him a high-level executive from another team maintained. Some of the things his dad said I think that weighed on people's minds

Quote it was talent based insisted a top personnel executive from NFC teams They were there were other factors But you can't chalk it all up to that The three executives who shared those perspectives were among several who agreed to speak to USA Today Sports in the days following the draft. Assessing Sanders' tumble, all spoke on the condition of anonymity, not wanting to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, which undoubtedly raises questions about the subjectivity of the NFL draft process and by

extension the influence of cultural bias. What the fuck? Cultural bias? What is the cultural bias? So they all spoke on the condition of anonymity, not wanting to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Well, which means there are probably three white dudes. If we're going to be real here, if we're talking about cultural bias, and that says which will undoubtedly raise questions about the subjectivity of the NFL draft process and by extension the influence of cultural bias. When we say cultural bias, do we say the bias that's generated from social media and everybody determining that this guy,

I want to finish, I'm going to continue the story, I just want to know what we mean by cultural bias. I do know this, if I were a white executive, I wouldn't be saying any of this shit publicly either. Like a lot of people I've heard say, put your name on some shit. And I agree, put your name on it, unless you're a white guy that's questioning this guy who's become this cult figure in black culture. Do you want to deal with that? I don't think so. Honestly, I wouldn't even like, I wouldn't have even spoke in the name of anonymity. Now,

granted, this could also be black coaches, but if a black coach does it, then he's fucking with the culture. So he's a fucking, he's, you know, against the culture, right? So like there's no winning. Like if someone asked me, hey, can you weigh in? If I was an executive, white, black, whatever, and they asked me to weigh in on Chedurah Sanders, my ass would be like, no, thank you, sir. And I'm not going to give you anything even in the name of anonymity because somehow that's going to get out that I was the person that said it and I don't want my life fucked up by Deon Sanders and his wacko group of fucking people for a semi-talented fucking kid. I'm not going to throw away

my career or get ripped on social media or be deemed a racist or a traitor to the culture whatever if I'm going to sit here and tell you that I think this guy fucking sucks and that's why I didn't get drafted, I'm not going to give it to you anonymously. I'm not going to give it to you with my name right out there in front of it. I have no fucking comment for you, sir. None whatsoever. I wish him the best. Boom. But it questions the subjectivity of the NFL draft process and by extension the influence of cultural bias. Let's continue.

We like Shider, added the high-ranked decision maker, whose team was clearly in the market to draft a quarterback, but you can't separate the other stuff from the physical abilities. The other stuff he alluded to didn't involve any of the major off-field issues such as arrest or substance abuse that can get prospects removed from a team's draft board. Instead, he expressed concerned about Sanders leadership style and a flashy persona that included flexing a customized diamond studded watch that he wore during games and promoting his personal clothing line to legendary. And it's okay.

It is okay to question whether or not the person who you are taking to be the most important person on your team and arguably the most important person on any sports team there could be in American sport. It is fair to question how much this dude is in it because this dude is out here trying to build his brand to legendary and wearing fucking right. Watch us and doing this shit versus how much he truly cares about being a great football player. You have to question those things and maybe it'll

come back to burn you. Maybe he's the kind of guy that can do all this shit and still be great, but maybe he's not and they don't feel his talent is greater than the baggage and all the other shit that goes along with it. It's not about being a brand, the decision maker added. It's about being a teammate and earning a job. Well that was definitely a white guy that said that. That's a white guy response to some shit. So whoever that was, white dude, whatever.

We knew for months that Sanders poised to report to the Browns rookie mini camp this weekend, represented one of the draft's biggest storylines. He was clearly the most polarizing player in the draft as suggested during and since the three-day event by the barrage of opinions, analysis, and yes conspiracy theories hashed which followed intense scrutiny and controversy in the weeks leading up to the late April draft. The conspiracy theories are stupid. Like I believe these people when they tell you the reasons why they didn't draft the guy, but the reasons are legit. Yet even with that, few if any in the NFL universe, including some charged to evaluate

prospects for NFL teams, suspected that he would last until the third day of the draft. I didn't think first round the decision maker added, but I thought higher than fifth. We never had him as a first round pick, this person says. Let's see. In addition to grades for pure football and medical grade, which considers the effect of past injuries, there's an intensity grade that covers intangibles, standardized cognitive testing used by the NFL, off-the-field issues,

cultural fit concerns or factors weighed in in the latter grade. Like again, people are allowed to use whatever they want to determine if they think you are a fit for their organization or their business. People like to turn this into, oh, you're racist or oh, you're terrible or oh, you're thisists. People have the right to decide if you are the person they want representing their business and if you think that you're going or they think you're going to be able to win

at a high level for them. Sanders remained on that team's board, but the executive said, we never had him as a first round pick. However, another high ranking executive from an AFC team that was not in the market to draft a quarterback, projected Sanders as the person, as the possible first round pick because of the premium on quarterbacks. He said Sanders did not rank among the top 32 players on the board for overall grades, but projected as a capable starter. Quote,

usually that guy goes in the first round. As a running back you'd think second or third round but it's different for a quarterback. The quarterback position is more valuable. We expected him to go early but of course that's coming from a team that didn't need a quarterback. So it's easy for them to sit back now and go, well we had him here. I mean who knows what we would have done but that didn't need a quarterback. So it's easy for them to sit back now and go, well, we had him here. I mean, who knows what we would have done, but we didn't need a quarterback. Sanders, he added, was clearly rated as the second best quarterback prospect on the board after Cam Ward, who was drafted number one overall by the Titans. As the draft unfolded, Ole Miss, Jackson Dart, Tyler Shaw, Jalen Milro, and Dylan Gabriel were all drafted before Sanders. Interestingly,

the Browns passed on Sanders in selecting Gabriel after day two. We know all this. So basically what we're dealing with here, it's typical. Okay, here's another part of this. An unrealistic view of value. It's typical for teams to conduct 15-minute formal interviews with top prospects at the Combine or All-star bowl games even if they have no plans to draft them. It's an opportunity for teams to become familiar with players

and file impressions, perhaps for future reference, such as with free agency or trade talks. That exchange though also underscores something else that multiple teams, voices from multiple teams expressed. Sanders had an unrealistic view of his value. In any event, in this case, the executive said Sanders' refusal to interview wasn't a factor in the projection of the quarterback as a third or fourth round pick, nor was Sanders' decision not to work out at the combine a factor, he insisted, while mentioning that in 2024, Caleb Williams didn't work out at the combine before becoming the number one overall pick.

We grade the position the same every year, he said. Praise Sanders for his accuracy and toughness. He considered his arm strength as good, not great, and questioned his process in reading progressions. Sanders led the nation with a 74% completion rate in 2024 and in two seasons fired 64 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. The executive said the high number of sacks Sanders absorbed couldn't be blamed solely on suspect offensive line. Sanders he maintained too often held onto the football for too long while locking in on targets. Okay, well I'm done reading about.

God damn this is a long fucking story. Jesus Christ. Like what a like it's like not everything requires some long ass story. Some things are just pretty clear and I think to me it's like not everything requires some long ass story. Some things are just pretty clear and I think to me it's pretty clear what happened here. People didn't think you were good enough to warrant the baggage that comes along with you and I know it's easy to say well it's not like the baggage was crime and drugs and guns. No that's a different type of baggage but there is a baggage that you question whether or not a guy is truly dedicated to football when a dude seems

really obsessed with his own personal brand and in 2025 dudes are going to be obsessed with their brands. We get that dudes are going to be obsessed with their brands. That's the way this fucking works. However, like the one thing that stood out to me was the story about how Sanders talked to these teams as if he was being recruited instead of if it was a job interview and it's one thing if you're a free agent right? If you're a free agent you are being recruited instead of if it was a job interview. And it's one thing if you're a free agent, right? If you're a free agent, you are being recruited. These people want you. That's why they are meeting you. So, and they already know what you can do. So, like if you know, Prime Tom Brady is a free agent, they know what Tom Brady is. So, it is a recruiting trip. Tom Brady's not visiting the

fucking Raiders and you know, trying to convince the Raiders to take him. They want you. So they're trying to do whatever they can to get you. That is a recruiting visit. That is free agency. In the draft, you're trying to get someone to think that you, someone who's never played it down in the NFL, someone who plays the most important position in all of American sport, you're trying to convince them to hire you for the job. So, walking around like you're the biggest dick in the world isn't really the move in

that situation, especially if you're a quarterback, especially if you're a hyped up, you know, your daddy's had you hyped up for two fucking years. Like that's, that's, you know, you're not, like people have tried to compare it to what his dad did. His dad was one of the most freakish fucking athletes. All world dude at Florida State. His kid is a product of the social media era and real talk, he's a product of this world where everything is race based.

So if you're a white dude that says you don't think Cheddar is very good, that like engages more of the black Twitter people to be on his side. Like we are in a very diverse, not diverse, that's not the word, a divisive time when it comes to race. We know this. So there's just going to be people that love him just because he's black and think you hate him just because you're white

or you don't think he's going to be good just because he's white. Like that's the world and there are going to be white dudes that dislike this dude because there are some white dudes that just don't like flashy ass dudes that show their watches and shit at the game. So like we are in that era. We are in the right-wing left-wing Clay Travis Rachel Maddow bullshit era of this country. But the reality is the dude didn't get taken higher

because people question whether or not he's really that good and they don't want to deal with the bullshit that comes along with a guy that hasn't accomplished a fucking thing, you know, who's being propped up by his dad. They don't want to deal with having this dude who thinks he's the biggest shit in the world building this fucking brand coming into your place and you don't even know if he's

that good. Like this isn't difficult. If you thought he was a can't miss, you'd say great, put the watch on your dick during the game. We don't care if you could win 14 games for us. We don't care. If you can throw for 4,500 yards, we don't care. But they don't believe he can do that. And if they believed he could, they would not give a shit about the other baggage. They deal with Dion,

they deal with the drama. They don't think he's that good. Alright, anyway, I'm so sick of fucking talking about this guy. I don't know why it continues to be a story. Well, I do because it's easily clickable shit because dipshits on the internet will click it and then since it's a story dipshits like me will talk about it and it keeps on going. Anyway, more to come.