As hundreds of college football players prepare to showcase their best selves on the weekend of all-star events, the No. 1 player will be opting to remain on the sidelines.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is skipping out on the East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas, TX on Thursday evening. He also elected not to participate in practices throughout the week.
According to Front Office Sports, this has been a point of contention and there are speculative reasons for why Sanders is standing afar.
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Speculations are that Sanders agreed to appear in Dallas on the conditions that some of his Colorado teammates, who would not be there otherwise, were also invited to the Shrine Bowl.
"He was there basically as a deal made with the East-West Shrine game to help get a lot of their late-round/free-agent prospects from Colorado to be a part of that bowl, and give them an opportunity," former ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said on a The Ringer.
Eric Galko, who oversees football operations and player personnel for the Shrine Bowl, remains unfazed by the chatter.
"We don't pressure guys to play if they don't feel comfortable, if they don't feel healthy, or for whatever reason it may be," he tells Front Office Sports. "We want guys to practice, and certainly it looks great. But we're not going to pressure guys."
He added that he only learned about one week before practices for the Shrine Bowl began that Sanders would not be taking the field.
"There was no deal made," Galko said. "It would have been great if he practiced, for sure, but him not practicing does not mean that it was all preordained. That was a new development and we still support Shedeur. I think I understand why he made his decision, and we're still happy he's here."
Though a report from Yahoo Sports states another theory that Sanders' decision was that the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants, who own the first three picks of the NFL Draft, requested that he not participate.
Sanders is tabbed as one of the top two quarterback prospects in this draft class along with Miami's Cam Ward. His performance this past season boosted his draft stock, guiding Colorado to a 9-4 record and an Alamo Bowl appearance, where they fell to BYU.
His father, Deion, who serves as Colorado's head coach, has been vocal about Shedeur's outlook as he departs from college football. However, according to a source, NFL teams have no concerns about his involvement.
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