The internet is forever, they say.
Well, for Deion Sanders, it’s got a shelf life of at least seven years.
When the NFL Hall of Fame cornerback’s son finally was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, an old tweet that obviously had been locked and loaded was immediately fired into the Twittersphere by the Freezing Cold Takes account — infamous for finding bad takes that come back to haunt social media users.
Shedeur Sanders, the Colorado quarterback, became the biggest draft flop in the history of the NFL. He was projected by many to go in the first round, but kept falling, falling, falling until the Browns, one of the teams who were predicted to take him in that initial round, grabbed him — after already selecting a quarterback.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel was chosen by the Browns with the 94th pick of the draft. And, of course, there was drama there, too — a video in which Gabriel, a Hawaii native, said he’d prefer playing for a warm-weather team.
But back to Sanders.
The Browns, notorious for recent quarterback chaos, had an even worse reputation back when Deion Sanders was telling QB prospects to turn off their phones.
In March 2018, Sanders said a quarterback who might be drafted by the Browns the following month should opt out — like Giants’ Eli Manning did when he was chosen by the Chargers in 2004.
Tweeted Sanders: “I love what the Browns have done this offseason, but if I’m a young QB, ain’t no way I’m going to Cleveland. I would pull a ELI MANNING if possible.” He added a hashtag of “Truth.”
Uh, oh. Awkward
“How long have you been holding on to that one and hoping,” a Twitter account asked.
The Browns selected the Colorado quarterback Sanders with the 144th overall pick in the draft. That ended a stunning fall for Sanders, the most recognizable player in this draft class after his attention-getting college career.
Draft forecasts generally rated Sanders behind only Miami’s Cam Ward — who went first overall to the Tennessee Titans — among quarterbacks in this class. Five quarterbacks were taken before him instead, with one of them going to Cleveland when the Browns picked Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
The uncertainty surrounding the Colorado star is the dominant story in this draft. Sanders didn’t get taken in the first round Thursday. Nor was he chosen in the second and third rounds Friday.
Sanders remained optimistic Saturday while providing an update on social media.
“Another day another opportunity to get a chance to play the game I love,” he said in an X post Saturday morning. “Thank you GOD #LEGENDARY.”
Sanders now is suddenly part of a crowded Browns quarterback room as Deshaun Watson sits out the upcoming season with a torn Achilles tendon. Sanders and Gabriel join Kenny Pickett and 40-year-old Joe Flacco.
The AP contributed to this report.
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