Don’t diminish Shedeur Sanders’ Pro Bowl selection. He’s not.

SAN FRANCISCO — Shedeur Sanders always and forever will be known as an NFL Pro Bowl quarterback.

Sanders earned that unexpected distinction last week after receiving a phone call in an airport as he was off to visit his brother, Shiloh.

On Tuesday, Sanders will play with and against some of the NFL’s top players in a flag football game that has become the Pro Bowl’s signature event. Nonetheless, a month after completing his rookie season with a 5-12 Cleveland Browns team, Shedeur finds himself rubbing shoulders with some of the NFL’s best players.

The Pro Bowl is a watered-down ceremonial exhibition, but there is nothing ceremonial about the game for Sanders, who is on a journey to prove that he is more than a mere king of content, more than the son of Deion Sanders. When you are on that kind of journey, no opportunity is insignificant.

Still, Sanders said the invitation was unexpected.

“Yes, I was surprised,” Sanders told assembled media on Monday after practice. “It wasn’t like I was just sitting there expecting it. … I just didn’t have too much thought in it.

“I’m not going to lie; a lot of the time I’m taking it day-by-day. … If you would tell me that this was going to happen at the beginning of the year, I couldn’t say that that would’ve happened.”

Sanders could say that about so many things that have happened to him in the past 10 months.

If someone would’ve told him that his NFL draft stock would plummet, that he would be selected in the fifth round, he probably wouldn’t have believed it. If someone had told him that he would be listed fourth on the Cleveland Browns’ depth chart heading into training camp, he probably wouldn’t have believed that either. Yet he never lost an unshakable belief in himself.

After his media session, Shedeur said it was impossible to rank the Pro Bowl appearance in any kind of order.

“You can’t rank it because everything’s important to you in that moment of time,” he said. “There’s no such thing as ranking the best feeling because it’s all the same feeling. I’m excited.”

When news of the Pro Bowl invitation was first reported, some eyebrows were raised because the Pro Bowl selection was conflated with being named to the NFL All-Pro team.

Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who made All-Pro and was invited to the Pro Bowl, broke down the difference.

“Pro Bowl is for the fans,” he said. “They have a say in the voting. All-Pro is more like the real film watchers, the real ball players. Everyone who has a vote for All-Pro are former players, people who watch football all day. So that’s a little more prestigious from a player perspective, as far as ‘OK, these guys really know ball.’ How many voters for the Pro Bowl are watching film every day?”

Sanders may eventually earn his way onto an All-Pro team; that’s the plan. He received this Pro Bowl opportunity after three AFC quarterbacks suffered season-ending injuries and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars declined to participate.

As practice ended on Monday, Sanders took a photo with Michael Vick, the former NFL star quarterback and currently the head coach at Norfolk State University. Vick played in four of these Pro Bowl games.

He said Sanders should savor the moment.

In a testament to his popularity, Sanders attracted more cameras and more media than any other player at Monday’s practice.

“I think it’s great,” Vick said. “I think it’s great that he has an opportunity to come play in his first Pro Bowl game. He’s a star in his own right. He’s got a lot of fans. He has a great fan base, so we are here.”

Perhaps the greatest lesson Sanders learned this season is that he couldn’t take anything for granted, especially not playing time.

After enjoying unfettered stardom in college — at Jackson State and the University of Colorado – Sanders initially hit a wall in the NFL. For the first time in his career, he was forced to compete for his position. He came to appreciate that there are no meaningless moments, and no meaningless opportunities when you’re on a quest to prove yourself.

This includes the Pro Bowl and the opportunity to interact with some of the game’s most accomplished players.

“It’s amazing. I’m truly thankful for it,” he told reporters on Monday. “I just come in here and I’m like, ‘Dang, I really get to be around all these great guys and great coaches.’ It’s surreal.”

Asked who he was most excited to be around, Sanders said, “All of them.”

“I just told all of them, ‘Oh, you’re in that slot? Oh, you’re outside? You’re at running back? You’re snapping the ball?’ I say that to all of them. … They’re on my team.”

For those who have covered Sanders since Jackson State, this Pro Bowl invitation was a tantalizing twist that no one could have predicted last spring.

His rookie season was a story of peaks and valleys that began last April with the NFL draft when he was taken in the fifth round, the 144th selection overall. In training camp, he was buried on the Browns’ depth chart and only started a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers because everyone ahead of him was injured. He led Cleveland to a 30-10 preseason victory.

After that game, he dismissed the notion that the game was meaningless just because he was playing with backups against backups. The game wasn’t meaningless to the players trying to make the squad.

“Typically, people don’t take those too serious, but like that’s our Super Bowl, that’s each and every player’s Super Bowl,” he said.

He added a key insight: “I’m just thankful that I was able to see the [light of day] and get out there and be able to play. They didn’t have to let me play. So, anything and everything is good for me.”

Sanders earned his first regular-season start in November against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders won and he became the first Browns rookie quarterback in 30 years to win his first start. In between, there were rough outings against the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a season-ending victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.

I asked Shedeur where this Pro Bowl moment ranked in his career journey. He said he couldn’t rank it because the journey was far from over.

“I’m not done, so it’s a question that won’t be answered until I decide I’m done,” he said. “I don’t think like that. I’m present in the moment. I’m enjoying myself and thankful for everything. And that’s all I can focus on. I can’t think about anything else.”

Sanders heads into 2026 with a new head coach, Todd Monken, new challenges, and a great opportunity to prove himself.

This Pro Bowl appearance is not a season-ending accolade; it’s a launching pad.

The post Don’t diminish Shedeur Sanders’ Pro Bowl selection. He’s not. appeared first on Andscape.