Everyone is trying to come up with a reason why Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders slid to Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
In trying to make sense of why Sanders is still falling, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer took a vague shot at former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
"That would make Shedeur a backup quarterback. Backup QBs need to blend with in the furniture. It's why Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick, and even guys like Jay Cutler and Cam Newton had trouble extending their careers—if those guys weren't going to start for you, you'd probably rather just have the anonymous guy who'd support the starter and make ZERO headlines."
Lumping Cutler in the same group as Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick is certainly a wild take. And let's be clear, there are very much non-football reasons why Kaepernick had trouble extending his playing career. Extending his playing career is not something Cutler had an issue with.
Two realities ...
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 26, 2025
1) Shedeur Sanders fell out of the first round because of talent and performance.
2) He's still available now because of everything else. At this point of the draft, teams are looking for depth and developmental players. If you're taken in the third round or… https://t.co/r0EK0kQHfR
First and foremost, Cutler had a 12-year playing career. By the time his time with the Bears was coming to an end, he was ready to take a job in media. Instead, the Miami Dolphins came calling in 2017 and signed him to a $10MM contract to be their starting quarterback. If anything, Cutler's playing career went on one season too long as he was ready for life after football by the time the Bears parted ways with him in 2016.
Regardless, for Sanders, we have reached the point of the draft where, regardless of what may come with his arrival to an NFL team, his value would far outweigh the position in which he is being drafted. While this likely wouldn't include the Bears, there will be a team willing to take a flier on him as their backup quarterback. At this point, it's clear Sanders won't be a starting quarterback in the NFL during the 2025 season.