BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns had a special guest at the team’s second day of training camp Thursday: Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
The Colorado football coach and father of Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders made a trip to Cleveland after hinting months ago at a potential visit to meet with head coach Todd Monken.
Monken, the Browns’ first-year head coach, told reporters before practice that he spoke briefly with Deion Sanders, who offered a “little bit of insight” on his son, who played for his father throughout his high school and collegiate career.
“It was really cool,” Monken said. “Deion Sanders, you kidding me? Forget that it’s Shedeur’s dad. I mean, first of all, he did an unbelievable job with Shedeur, great kid. And obviously an elite football player, hell, baseball player. And then as a coach, I mean, wow. Everything that he’s achieved, that was awesome.
“He gave me a little bit of insight, but we were up against it. [General manager] Andrew Berry was next, so I had to give him up to Andrew. So there was some back-and-forth as to being around Shedeur in terms of how he processes personalitywise. And I think competitivewise, he got into it at the end in terms of what makes him tick, which was good. It was all good. But we’ve seen that. Most of what he said, we’ve been able to see. Now we haven’t gotten to games yet. That’s a different animal. But at this point, what he talked about, I would’ve said, ‘No, that’s how I’ve seen it.’”
Deion Sanders told YouTube Show “The Barbershop” in May that he wanted to speak to Monken about the best way to coach his son.
“I want to meet him because I think it’s vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about [Shedeur], how to get him going,” Deion said. “That wasn’t asked of me a year ago. I don’t understand it. Even a guy like Travis Hunter being drafted to Jacksonville, and I’ve had him for the last three [years], don’t you think you would want to talk to me to ask me what gets him going and what backs him off? You would want to know that.”
Shedeur Sanders, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft, started seven games as a rookie and went 3-4 record as a starter. He is competing with Deshaun Watson for the Browns’ starting quarterback job.
Monken has not revealed a timeline for naming a starter but said he would continue to alternate first-team reps between the two passers, as he did during the offseason workout program. Watson took all the starting reps during the first training camp practice Wednesday, and Sanders is set to lead the first-team offense Thursday.
