While Shedeur Sanders has his sights set on an NFL career, there’s a CFL team that’s leaving its door open just in case.
The Toronto Argonauts have reportedly added quarterback Shedeur Sanders to their exclusive negotiation list, according to Justin Dunk of 3DownNation.
Shedeur, son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round (144th overall) of last week’s 2025 NFL draft after an unprecedented slide down the board.
The University of Colorado standout was considered by many as a first-round talent and top QB prospect entering the draft. Instead, he had to wait till Day 3 to hear his name called and was the sixth quarterback selected.
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In his senior season with the Buffaloes last year, Sanders passed for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through 13 games. His 74.0 completion percentage led all of FBS in 2024 and his career mark of 71.8 per cent holds the all-time record in FBS history.
The 23-year-old ended up as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was named a second-team All-American after he led Colorado to a 9-4 record — their most wins since 2016.
Despite his collegiate success, Sanders is not a given for the Browns’ roster heading into the 2025 NFL season. Cleveland’s QB room already included veterans Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson, but they also traded for former first-rounder Kenny Pickett and drafted Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon in the third round.
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Which may just be Toronto’s thinking in adding him to their exclusion negotiation list.
CFL by-laws state that teams can claim exclusive rights for up to 45 players by placing them on their negotiation lists. Players can be added, removed or traded from the lists at any time.
The Argos do, however, have four QBs on their active roster at the moment, including the CFL’s 2023 Most Outstanding Player Chad Kelly and 2024 Grey Cup MVP Nick Arbuckle.
The defending champions are just under a month away from the start of their title-defence campaign. Their first pre-season game of the season is set for May 24 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
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