Michael Strahan delivered a message from Tom Brady after Shedeur Sanders’ fall to the fifth spherical within the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday.
Throughout Monday’s installment of “Good Morning America,” Strahan mentioned he watched this yr’s draft with Brady — famously a sixth-round choice, 199th general, within the 2000 NFL Draft — who had some encouraging phrases for the previous Colorado quarterback.
“I frolicked with Tom Brady this previous weekend and we watched the draft and as Tom mentioned, ‘He’s an instance, it doesn’t matter whenever you’re picked,’” the previous All-Professional move rusher mentioned.
Brady, whose shirtless draft picture goes viral yearly, went on to win a document seven Tremendous Bowl rings over his 23-year NFL profession with the Patriots and Buccaneers earlier than he retired in February 2023.
The long run Professional Corridor of Famer grew to become a minority proprietor of the Raiders in 2024.
As soon as a projected high choose within the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders dropped to the fifth spherical on Saturday, and the Browns traded as much as take him at 144th general.
Strahan, who received a Tremendous Bowl with the Giants throughout his 15-year NFL profession with New York, praised Cleveland for choosing the son of Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer Deion Sanders.
“I don’t assume this child ought to’ve dropped to the fifth spherical, and I hate when you have got unnamed sources. When you’re going to say one thing that unhealthy to disparage a child, put your title on it initially,” Strahan, an NFL analyst for Fox, mentioned, seemingly referring to nameless stories that Sanders acted “entitled” and had destructive interviews with two groups main as much as the draft.
“You watch so many quarterbacks who had no quantity of manufacturing like he had. It’s about numbers in terms of quarterbacks.
“… Economically, this may increasingly have harm Shedeur Sanders, however opportunity-wise it didn’t — as a result of he’s on a workforce the place I feel he has shot at making a distinction. And I feel the child goes to be an ideal participant… I feel the Browns did factor, and I feel they’re going to take pleasure in it.
Strahan added that Sanders “dealt with the prank and all these things proper.”
The NFL mentioned it was investigating a prank cellphone name to Sanders’ personal cellphone quantity throughout Day 2 of the draft final Friday.
The quarterback obtained a name from somebody impersonating New Orleans Saints common supervisor Mickey Loomis throughout a reside stream on Twitch.
The Atlanta Falcons mentioned in a press release that the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was behind the prank after he obtained entry to an open iPad at their residence, which had Sanders’ contact data on it.
“It’s been a protracted wait, man,” the individual mentioned. “We’re going to take you with our subsequent choose, man, however you’re going to have to attend a little bit bit longer, man. Sorry about that.”
After the individual hung up the cellphone, Sanders, who was with family and friends at his personal draft get together, mentioned, “What does that imply?”
Sanders known as the prank “infantile” and defined that he wasn’t feeding into negativity.
“It didn’t actually have an effect on me, as a result of it was similar to, I imply, OK, like I don’t feed into negativity or I don’t feed into that stuff,” he mentioned on a convention name with Cleveland-area reporters after he was drafted.
“… My response to it, I don’t — it’s what it’s. I feel, after all, it’s infantile. In fact, I really feel prefer it was a infantile act, however all people does infantile issues right here and there.”
Jax Ulbrich, 21, issued a public apology on his Instagram on Sunday.
“On Friday night time, I made an amazing mistake. Sheduer (sic), what I did was fully inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” Jax Ulbrich wrote.
“I’m so sorry I took away out of your second, it was egocentric and infantile. I may by no means think about on the brink of rejoice one of many biggest moments of your life, and I made a horrible mistake and messed with that second. Thanks for accepting my name earlier at this time. I hope you could find it in your coronary heart to forgive me.”
Sanders was the second quarterback the Browns chosen within the draft after Cleveland added former Oregon standout Dillon Gabriel at No. 94.
Along with the rookies, the Browns’ quarterback room contains Kenny Pickett and veterans Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson.
