It’s unlikely that this will play any role in where Shedeur Sanders ends up in the NFL, but if Deion Sanders had to choose, he doesn’t want his son — and Colorado’s quarterback — to play in a cold-weather city.
The Buffaloes’ six home games in 2023 had an average temperature of 59.2 degrees, with the home opener against Nebraska the warmest at 72 and an Oct. 13 game against Stanford the coldest at 44.
“Like, I don’t want [Shedeur] going nowhere cold next year,” Sanders told Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, according to Pro Football Talk, during a SiriusXM interview conducted on an unclear date. “He grew up in Texas. He played in Jackson, played in Colorado. Season’s over before it gets cold in Colorado.
“I’m just thinking way ahead. I don’t want that for him.”
Sanders started by talking about USC prospect Caleb Williams — expected to join the Bears at No. 1 overall — and how he can “flat-out play,” but he also cautioned that Chicago would be an adjustment for the 22-year-old quarterback.
He started his career in Oklahoma, which received the label of “not terribly cold” from Sanders.
And then for the past two seasons, Williams has played for the Trojans after he followed head coach Lincoln Riley and left the Sooners.
“Like see, when you take a guy from Ohio State and you bring him to Chicago, OK, I could understand that,” Sanders reportedly told Russo, referencing the Bears’ decision to select Fields at No. 11 overall in 2021 following his collegiate career with the Buckeyes. “But from California to Chicago? Not only that, they added what? One or two more games in the NFL. Seventeen games. Come on, man. You gotta factor in that stuff. That stuff matters.”
Williams, though, played for Gonzaga College High School and grew up in Washington, D.C., which, according to Pro Football Talk, is located near what the outlet labeled as one of the NFL’s cold-weather teams: the Commanders.
But in reality, unless the Sanders family publicly stated that they wouldn’t play for certain teams in certain cold-weather cities, Shedeur’s first NFL destination will revolve around his final season with the Buffaloes and how the draft order unfolds.
Shedeur threw for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns during his first season with Colorado — after starting his career at Jackson State and transferring when Sanders took the Buffaloes’ head coaching job — while also rushing for another four touchdowns.
He then announced his decision to return for a final season in January, writing in a post on X that the Buffaloes have “the pieces we need to do it big this year.”
Colorado won its first three games in 2023 before losing three of its final nine to close the regular season.