Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward and their NFL journeys to QB1

CAM WARD AND Shedeur Sanders were chirping at each other — again.

As Sanders dropped back to pass in February during a predraft workout on UNLV’s practice field — one of many between the two highly touted quarterback prospects — Ward watched as he ribbed his practice partner.

«They gave you a completion percentage award, because all you did was throw checkdowns and bubble screens,» Ward said. «That’s actually crazy. If I did that, my completion percentage would be 90 [percent].»

Sanders quickly retorted.

«You had a run game,» Sanders said, bumping chest to chest with Ward.

The playful back-and-forth had become customary for the two quarterbacks who had worked out together since 2022. Ward was a zero-star recruit in 2020 from West Columbia, Texas, and began his collegiate career at Incarnate Word. He spent two years there before playing two seasons at Washington State and his final season at Miami. Sanders was a four-star recruit at Jackson State in 2021, playing under his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, for two years before following his dad to Colorado to finish out his final two seasons.

2025 NFL draft according to Scouts Inc. The two connected during their decorated college careers through their personal QB coach, Darrell Colbert Jr., and they trained alongside each other throughout the predraft process — often in long sessions mixed with fierce competition and respectful banter.

Their NFL journeys converge Sunday when the 3-9 Cleveland Browns host the 1-11 Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. ET, Fox), the first meeting between two young quarterbacks and friends trying to salvage challenging rookie seasons. Ward, the No. 1 pick in the draft, has battled through on-field struggles and the Titans’ midseason coaching change, while Sanders, drafted No. 144 in a fall to the fifth round, has climbed up the Browns’ depth chart and is set to make his third start.

«Cam’s competitive, it’s always fun, getting out there, training with him,» Sanders said. «And then, we both ended up getting drafted, and we both went our separate ways. And that’s really everybody that I played in college with almost, everybody’s focused on what they got to do, and it’s all love whenever we see each other.»

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HAVING PLAYED THE position in college, at SMU and Lamar, Colbert decided to start training quarterbacks after his playing days ended in 2018. He founded Select QB Athletics in 2019, leaning on his playing experience to help young passers through personal coaching.

Colbert first connected with Shedeur Sanders through Sanders’ older brother, Deion Sanders Jr., who was one of the trainer’s teammates at SMU from 2014 to 2015. Shedeur was in middle school at the time and used to tag along with his older brother to their workouts, and Colbert would help give Shedeur tips about playing quarterback.

Shedeur lived in the Dallas area at the time, but his mother, Pilar, lived in Houston, where Colbert was based. The two formed a bond and, at Shedeur’s urging, decided to work together when Shedeur was a junior at Trinity Christian High School in Cedar Hill, Texas. But the final decision rested in the hands of his father, who wanted Colbert to head to Dallas so he could see Shedeur work out with him in person.

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«Pops gave me a stamp of approval, so Shedeur and I have been rolling ever since,» Colbert told ESPN.

The other connection happened when Ward’s father, Calvin, saw Colbert working with Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones, who is Ward’s cousin. The elder Ward reached out to Colbert via Twitter, and Colbert began to train Ward ahead of his first year at Washington State.

Colbert decided it would be a good idea to try something he hadn’t done before and pair Sanders and Ward together prior to their 2022 college seasons to push each other while they trained in Houston.

«It was natural. I think it was a mutual respect,» Colbert said. «Cam had the crazy numbers at the FCS levels, doing all the stuff that he had done. Shedeur was playing like that as well. You saw what Shedeur did his freshman year at Jackson State.»

The pairing was perfect. Colbert pushed both of them, but they also motivated each other.

«I knew both of these guys were very competitive,» Colbert said. «That also brings so much more to the training session than just us doing one-on-one training.»

Their relationship grew from unfamiliarity to constant trash-talking. Colbert watched as their mutual respect grew, and with that, so did their competitive spirit.

«I thought both of us would be just great quarterbacks when it’s all said and done,» Ward said.

There were days when Colbert trained Sanders and Ward, while in Houston, for their 2023 seasons, and he said he would marvel at how they’d go three weeks straight, four times a week, without missing a throw. The young QBs held each other accountable and never hesitated to get on one another if something wasn’t right.

The relationship grew to the point where Colbert, Sanders and Ward would have group FaceTime calls after games during their 2023 seasons and leading into weeks where there was crossover via common opponents, allowing them to share tips about common opponents in the Pac-12, the conference where both quarterbacks starred.

56-14 in a game in which Sanders exited in the second quarter because of injury. (And, well, the FaceTime calls would soon pick back up where they left off.)

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WARD WOULD PLAY one more game at Washington State before transferring to Miami. Sanders, meanwhile, remained at Colorado. Both established themselves as top prospects leading into the 2025 draft. Ward would emerge as the favorite to be drafted No. 1 by the Titans after the combine. But that’s not to say former Titans coach Brian Callahan, who was fired six games into the 2025 season, wasn’t impressed with Sanders despite questions about his arm strength.

«There’s a prerequisite arm strength that you have to have and exhibit,» Callahan told ESPN during East-West Shrine Bowl week in January. «To bring it back, even [Joe] Burrow, people had questions about his arm strength in general coming out. One of the things that makes Joe so unique, and I think you could probably put Shedeur maybe in the same conversation, is they anticipate. They have the timing and they have accuracy on top of it. It makes up for the pure arm strength, and there’s so much more to playing quarterback than being able to throw it.»

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The Browns, who held the No. 2 pick at the time, spent extensive time in the predraft process with both Ward and Sanders, too. The Titans, though, had homed in on Ward with the top selection as the draft neared; Browns general manager Andrew Berry told Cleveland-based reporters at the NFL’s league meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, in late March that a trade to No. 1 was unlikely. Had Ward been available with the second pick, which the Browns ultimately traded out of with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Browns would have taken the quarterback out of Miami.

«[Ward] has a ton of talent, and you see it on tape,» Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday. «Some of the throws, the extended plays, can really fit it into tight windows. Have a lot of respect for his mind and how he thinks about the game.»

The Browns wouldn’t select a quarterback until the third round, but it wasn’t Sanders, who, despite being projected by ESPN senior draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. as his top QB, was enduring a free fall down the draft. Cleveland drafted Dillon Gabriel with the 94th pick, and the next day, and two rounds later, the Browns traded up to the 144th pick to select Sanders. Cleveland didn’t view Sanders as an elite prospect worthy of a first-round pick, but Berry believed his talent was much greater than that of a typical fifth-rounder.

«We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft,» Berry said. «Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot.»

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen for the fourth most in the league. The struggles have caused some hard times and challenged Ward’s love for the game, but he has pushed forward.

«It’s for sure testing it,» Ward said. «But someone in the world has it a lot worse than I have. So that’s just how I put it in perspective. I’m very blessed. God’s blessed me with the ability to do what I love for a living.»

Colbert continued to train Sanders in the summer as Sanders prepared for training camp and was in Las Vegas for his first start. The rookie became the first Browns quarterback since 1995 to win his first NFL start.

While Ward received first-team reps at the beginning of the Titans’ training camp, Sanders practiced with a host of backups and roster hopefuls throughout the summer as the Browns held a quarterback competition and divided first-team reps between the other QBs. Berry likened Sanders’ transition to the pros as someone who was «fluent in English and now you have to learn Mandarin,» and Cleveland handled his development as such throughout training camp, bringing him along slowly.

Sanders made the Browns’ 53-man roster as the No. 3 quarterback behind Joe Flacco and Gabriel — Kenny Pickett was traded to the Raiders — and moved into the backup role after Cleveland traded Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7. Sanders made his debut against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, entering the game after Gabriel was placed in the concussion protocol at halftime, but he struggled. He completed just 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception in the 23-16 loss.

Stefanski confirmed after the game that Sanders’ debut marked his first snaps with the first-team offense in any setting. Sanders, though, made his first start against the Raiders, which meant a week of practice reps with the starters. He impressed with 209 passing yards and one touchdown in a 24-10 victory, and Stefanski stuck with Sanders as the starter, even after Gabriel cleared the concussion protocol.

It has been a crash course, however, for Sanders, as he works to establish rapport with his teammates, all while trying to apply the teachings from the past several months and make improvements in multiple areas, including footwork and pocket presence. He has completed 50.8% of his passes for 405 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

«I think there’s certain things that — certain areas that I need to improve in, quickly,» Sanders said. «Just because I’m a rookie, that’s not really an excuse out there.»

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SUNDAY’S MATCHUP WILL have major draft implications for both teams.

A Titans loss would increase their chances of getting the No. 1 pick from 47.3% to 66%, according to ESPN Analytics; the odds would drop to 29% with a win. A Browns loss would increase their chances of getting the top pick from 7.5% to 14%, while a win would drop the odds to less than 1%. Cleveland, though, has an extra first-round pick from its trade with the Jaguars, additional draft capital that could be used to target a coveted passer in the 2026 draft.

Ward has shown flashes of why he could be the Titans’ franchise quarterback. Interim head coach Mike McCoy saw signs of progress from Ward after he threw for 256 yards and a touchdown and scrambled for a season-high 37 yards, including his first rushing touchdown, in a 30-24 Week 12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

«It’s taking that next step, and that’s what [Ward has] done,» McCoy said. «We’ve been saying it from day one, the way he competes, the way he works every day. When we first came in in the offseason program, the early mornings, staying late, things like that, it’s starting to pay off.»

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In Cleveland, the long-term solution at the most important position remains unclear with five games remaining. Gabriel struggled in his six starts — his 30.9 QBR ranked only above the Raiders’ Geno Smith — and Sanders’ sample size is small. The Browns on Wednesday opened the practice window for Deshaun Watson, who hasn’t played since tearing his right Achilles tendon on Oct. 20, 2024.

But on Sunday, the spotlight will be on Ward and Sanders, both attempting to make the most of the final games of their rookie seasons.

This week, Colbert, in person, will get to see the quarterbacks he paired together in 2022 face off for the first time in the NFL.

«These are things that they talked about,» Colbert said. «Cam has been talking about playing in the NFL since he was at [Incarnate Word]. There was no, ‘Oh, everybody says that.’ He meant it. Same thing with Shedeur. When he was at Jackson State, he knew he would be playing in the NFL. Being able to put them together and us training together all these years and now being on this big stage in the NFL with everybody watching and having these guys together is a blessing.»

Ward told ESPN this week that he hasn’t talked to Sanders since the draft, but he wishes him the best — just not this week.

«Really, everything happens for a reason,» Ward said. «God has a plan for me. He has a plan for [Shedeur]. At the end of the day, you just got to continue to prove yourself right. Every time he steps on the field, I know he’s going to prove himself right. The same goes for me. So we just got to continue to stay in the everyday mindset of getting better, and not letting bad outcomes dictate the next day.»