Shedeur Sanders to the Browns: Here’s what Cleveland’s coach and GM said to the QB in draft-day phone call

Shedeur Sanders waited all the way until the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft to hear his name called. And the Cleveland Browns understood that well. General manager Andrew Berry acknowledged Sanders’ unexpected slide in his initial phone call with the quarterback, as the Browns revealed this week, and encouraged the Colorado product to use his circumstances as motivation to prove the NFL wrong.

“Hey, I know it’s been a long weekend,” Berry told Sanders over FaceTime from the Browns’ draft room, as seen in video released by the team. “But we’re going to take you off the board here, alright, brother? Listen, you gotta come in, you gotta work hard, you gotta earn your job and earn your keep. [But] it doesn’t matter where you’re taken; it matters what you do from this point forward, all right?

“You’re talented, we spent a lot of time with you [and] you’re a good kid,” Berry continued, with Sanders listening alongside family. “Let’s get ready to go to work and prove all the people who passed on you wrong.”

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski spoke with Sanders next, suggesting the quarterback’s fall from widely projected first-rounder to Day 3 afterthought could end up helping the rookie in the long run.

“Remember I told you the Lord works in mysterious ways, right?” Stefanski said. “It’s an opportunity [that] we’re going to get to work together, OK, buddy?”

Sanders’ opportunity will begin in short order as Cleveland kicks off its spring programming. The son of former NFL great Deion Sanders is one of four different additions to the club’s quarterback room this offseason, after trade acquisition Kenny Pickett, free agent signing Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted out of Oregon by the Browns two rounds before Sanders’ selection.