Not everyone was happy the Raiders made the decision to repeatedly pass on Shedeur Sanders in the draft, and it’s going to interesting as Shedeur’s NFL career plays out, to see if the quarterback-needy teams that passed on the former Colorado quarterback made the right decision.
With the presence of Tom Brady in Las Vegas, no team had a better connection to the Sanders family than the Raiders, so it was no small story last month when Brady and his hand-picked GM drafted seven players before the Cleveland Browns finally took Shedeur in the fifth round.
For his part, however, Brady said earlier this month that he didn’t have any part in the decision to pass on Shedeur.
“I wasn’t a part of any evaluation process,” Brady said of the Raiders decision to not draft Sanders.
“I actually texted Shedeur because I know him very well and I said ‘Dude, whatever happens, wherever you go, that’s your first day. Day 2 matters more than the draft. I was [pick] 199. Who could speak on it better than me? Use that as motivation. You’re going to get your chances. Go take advantage of them.’”
Brady has taken criticism for denying any role in avoiding Sanders in the draft, but Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter offered the most obvious explanation for Brady’s comments on the situation.
“I… think Tom Brady showed a little grace here. He’s friends with the father; he’s friends with the son. I have addressed this,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“Do I think Tom Brady had input? Yes… Do I think that makes Tom Brady an unethical man trying to walk a tight rope for a friend? Not in the least,” Carpenter continued. “I’m good with it… but Tom Brady’s presence on this team has not been under-reported or over-reported. I think it’s been reported extremely fairly.”
The more complicated topic that’s been discussed for the last month, though, is why every NFL team decided against drafting Shedeur until the fifth round.
Or just as importantly, why did Brady decide against drafting the son of Deion Sanders at a time when his team could clearly use a young quarterback in the mix.
Superfan ‘Ice Cube’ offered his opinion on the Raiders and Shedeur last week on The Skip Bayless Show.
“It did bother me. I wanted him, but I understand,” Ice Cube said of the team’s decision not to draft Shedeur.
“I can see from a coach’s point of view why not to take him, because you take him, you don’t have a good season or two, Deion’s getting your job. I think a lot of coaches were like ‘Nah, I don’t want to draft my replacement. I think that might have been the biggest reason why he slipped. It wasn’t because of how he plays on the field. It was probably because they was scared to lose they job to Deion Sanders.”
x: @raidersbeat