"He’s Been Through Hell": Deion Sanders Reveals What Shedeur Sanders Has Endured In The NFL

Deion Sanders shares heartbreaking truth about Shedeur Sanders© X formally Twitter

Deion Sanders sees something in his son that the box score cannot show. Shedeur Sanders threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-22 overtime loss to the Saints, then went right back to the bench. Deshaun Watson returned from concussion protocol and will start against the Texans. The Colorado coach says the past year has changed Shedeur for the better, and he chose blunt words to explain how.

Shedeur Sanders performance: a start worth noting

Shedeur waited eight weeks for his first start of 2026. When Watson entered concussion protocol, he finally got the call. The 23-year-old completed 19 of 31 passes and did not throw an interception. The Saints sacked him five times, and he had rough stretches. Still, the numbers showed a young passer who could move the offense.

Head coach Todd Monken noticed. "I thought for 10 weeks of really not taking any reps, I thought he did a really good job," Monken said. That praise matters because Shedeur got almost no practice time with the first team.

His path here has been bumpy from the start. Cleveland picked him 144th overall in the fifth round of the 2025 draft, well below early projections. As a rookie he made seven starts, won three, and finished with 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Deion Sanders on Shedeur Sanders' growth

Deion sees the toll and the progress. When asked about his son, he said: "It's good, but it's taught him so much." He kept going: "He's matured so much, and he's grown so much in the last year or so, that I'm really, really proud of it, because he's never had to deal with circumstances. And we've always dealt with chatter."

He did not shy away from the noise around the family. "Your last name's Sanders, you're gonna deal with chatter. We've always dealt with that from youth all the way up. But the level of dysfunction that permeates around is crazy," he explained.

Then came the line that stood out most. "When he takes off his shirt, I see the scars on his back that he's been through hell, but he's made it through hell," Sanders said. "He kept going and he matured, not like he was a child, but he matured spiritually."

What happens next is unclear. Watson is back under center, but the Browns have a bye week coming, and the team has struggled to move the ball with any consistency. That gives the staff time to rethink the quarterback spot.

For now, Shedeur waits again. His father believes the wait is shaping a stronger man, and that may matter more than any single start.