The East-West Shrine Bowl is one of the biggest college all-star events.
With practices beginning Saturday, this week of interviews, practices, and the game on Thursday is one of the best chances for draft hopefuls to boost their stock.
Hiring GM John Spytek on Wednesday and head coach Pete Carroll on Friday, this stands out as the first test for the new regime of the Las Vegas Raiders. The pair, as well as the scouting department, will be doing extensive homework on every prospect in Arlington, Texas this week.
If the Raiders or any other teams were hoping to see Shedeur Sanders, however, they will come away disappointed.
According to Yahoo Sports, the Colorado quarterback will not be participating in the Shrine Bowl, although he will be interviewing with teams this week.
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is not participating in today’s practice at the East-West Shrine Bowl ???? @Rivals | @CUSportsNation pic.twitter.com/gTc2N1q1x6
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 25, 2025
Sanders’ decision came at the behest of the top three teams in the draft order: the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. After his meetings with all three teams on Friday, as well as the opinions of himself and his quarterback coach, Sanders ultimately elected to not participate in practices or the game.
What this means to the Raiders is that Sanders, as well as Miami quarterback Cam Ward, are coveted prospects who will not be available after the third overall pick.
There is still three months left before the draft but, if the Raiders are dead-set on bringing Sanders in as their franchise quarterback, they will need to prepare to build a package in order to convince a team to trade up.
However, having the knowledge of what range Sanders is going to get drafted is also beneficial for the Raiders, as it gives them a chance to circle around to the other quarterback prospects in the class.
Other Shrine Bowl quarterbacks who will be participating include Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, Minnesota’s Max Brosmer and North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. The Raiders could also do more digging on Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe to explore further options that will not cost a premium draft pick.
This update on Sanders gives the Raiders a realistic idea of what they must do to address their quarterback situation, and gives the team their first major decision of the Carroll-Spytek era.
