The Steelers would be insane to draft Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Any NFL team would be.
They would get a legit first-round talent. Sanders’ ability is undeniable.
But they would also get the nuttiest Little League dad this side of LeBron James.
Make no mistake, Deion Sanders would be interfering. He’d be on the phone with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. He’d put more attention on his son’s agenda than his job coaching Colorado. That seems impossible to believe but would absolutely happen. The main reason Deion started coaching was to further his kids.
Deion would reportedly force his son’s way to a different team if the wrong team drafted Shedeur. So Deion is already involved.
Tomlin would foolishly relish a connection to Deion. Kibitzing with a big name. More showbiz for the master of illusion.
But Tomlin couldn’t control it. He’d think he could. He’d think he was.
But Tomlin couldn’t and wouldn’t. And the first time he did or said something Deion or Shedeur didn’t like …
Deion served notice for all of the above when he retired Shedeur’s number at Colorado.
Travis Hunter’s number also will be retired. That’s tolerable. He just won the Heisman Trophy.
Colorado has retired just four numbers. It’s an exclusive club.
Deion decided on rapid expansion of said club, thus force-feeding legitimacy to the importance of his two seasons as Colorado coach.
It’s false legitimacy.
Deion is 13-12 at Colorado, 8-10 in conference play, 0-1 in bowl games. Colorado was ranked No. 25 at the end of this past season. Whoopee. Colorado is superior to Pitt, anyway.
Deion has made Colorado better. But the improvement has only been revolutionary in terms of showbiz. Deion certainly has ESPN buffaloed. (See what I did there?)
Ex-Steeler Kordell Stewart’s number isn’t retired at Colorado.
Stewart won two bowl games. He led Colorado to two top-10 finishes, including No. 3 in 1994. He threw the Miracle at Michigan. He was first-team all-conference, second-team All-America.
Shedeur won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year this past season. He made first-team all-conference.
Stewart was better. His teams certainly did better.
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But Stewart wasn’t the coach’s kid. Shedeur is. So Shedeur’s number gets retired, primarily for that reason.
Shedeur on the Steelers would be best for my business.
Deion and son can’t stomach criticism of any kind.
Imagine a quarterback tandem of Aaron Rodgers and Shedeur. Rodgers would start. Deion would go insane every time Rodgers threw an incompletion.
When is Rodgers going to decide, by the way?
The Steelers look soft by giving way too much leeway to a mercenary who seems to be waiting for a better opportunity to materialize, like Minnesota losing trust in second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy and his surgically repaired knee.
Rodgers would only play for the Steelers as a last resort and will never embrace the logo. Here’s betting Rodgers would bail the moment things turned sour.
The Steelers are waiting by the telephone, the unpopular girl hoping that a dreamed-about suitor calls and asks her to the prom. The phone might ring but only as a last resort.
If Rodgers really wanted to be a Steeler, he already would be.
I don’t buy the notion that a secret deal is in place between the Steelers and Rodgers. Too difficult to keep that quiet. Even if there is, the Steelers would be crazy to trust Rodgers till he puts pen to paper.
The Steelers would be crazy to draft Shedeur Sanders, too.
He was once projected to go to Cleveland with the second pick overall. Why might Shedeur now drop all the way to the Steelers at the 21st pick?
Maybe it’s because daddy is lurking.
Maybe it’s because Shedeur behaved brashly when interviewing with teams.
Maybe it’s because Shedeur’s arm isn’t great and he’s only 6-foot-1.
Or maybe the Steelers are bluffing. Maybe Tomlin doesn’t like Shedeur that much.
In 2022, a lot of talk connected the Steelers with Liberty quarterback Malik Willis. But the Steelers selected Kenny Pickett in the first round instead.
Tomlin’s mind games paid off. Except that Pickett was an utter disaster.
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