“It’s time to take advantage of the opportunity— gotta go in there with a different mindset; and lead the program in whatever role I gotta be in until it’s my time.” Shedeur Sanders said this moments after the Cleveland Browns ended his nerve‑jangling fall to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They came from a quarterback who had just finished incinerating the Big 12: 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, ten interceptions, and a flashy 74 percent completion rate. He also led Colorado from preseason sideshow to nine-win viability. The numbers were astounding, but scouts still gawked at the niftier flourishes. However, that’s not the case with the Canadian football team.
Shedeur Sanders’ velvet touch on boundary fades, how he beguiled safeties with his eyes, and a fourth-quarter swagger remind us of his Hall-of-Fame father’s swagger. As the Browns’ quarterback room swelled with veteran names and promising rookies, Sanders entered the summer as one of the league’s most intriguing developmental QBs. But as coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t yet sure to give him the QB1 role, Sanders, on the other hand, got an offer for himself.
This week, word came down that the Toronto Argonauts had quietly “called dibs” on that future. The reigning Grey Cup champions listed Sanders on their 45-player Negotiation List. It’s a book made available to all CFL franchises on a confidential basis. It provides an exclusive right to sign listed players if they ever glance over the three-down league. So, in short, the league has the right to sign players who are currently playing in other leagues, in college, or are unsigned.
Shedeur Sanders the next QB of the Toronto Argos? pic.twitter.com/VNFDvrd0ii
— theScore (@theScore) July 4, 2025
Toronto’s interest first emerged when the league released each franchise’s entire list for the first time in its 67-year history. Canadian reportedly quickly circled around Sanders, one of just three 2025 NFL draft picks to attend, and the news trickled south, engendering equal amounts of curiosity and confusion among Browns devotees.
Why would the Argos pounce on a quarterback who just signed a four-year, $4.65 million rookie contract? Two simple reasons: insurance and intrigue. The “negotiation list” is available at no cost. It can be rewritten as often as a club needs to, and it has already proven itself useful to Toronto in the past. Remember former Heisman winner Ricky Williams moonlighting in Double Blue during his 2006 NFL suspension? Or Chad Kelly, who took his 2022 CFL Most Outstanding Player season? Even Johnny Manziel’s rights sat temporarily with the Argos before Hamilton acquired them. If Sanders slips into the Browns’ strong quarterback depth pool or ends up on the practice squad. Toronto would get a ten‑day exclusive window to plead its case.
Bidding adieu to a talent like Sanders, whose dual-threat creativity could play even more cogently on an elongated. 110-yard Canadian field—gives general manager Michael Clemons a succession plan in place without spending a dime. In the meantime, the Browns can do nothing. The CFL won’t call Sanders unless he indicates that he’s interested. And his NFL contract is still rock‑solid.
The plan is not new. Manziel sat on Hamilton’s list for an entire calendar year before finally entering the country in 2018. Jeremiah Masoli, Bo Levi Mitchell, and even Warren Moon at one time lived on the same type of lists and went on to establish Canadian stardom.
Why is Shedeur Sanders important in Cleveland’s bigger picture?
In the first place, paperwork doesn’t alter anything regarding Sanders’ commitment. He remains in Brown’s ownership through 2029 unless waived. The CFL can’t get near him until he formally asks for a shot. The real fight this summer is much more prosaic. Who will get No. 2 behind Watson, and who is subject to a waiver claim? Sanders will battle Gabriel and Winston snap-for-snap, with quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt’s speed-shooting criticism at footwork and blitz recognition. If he makes the 53-man roster, Canada is a postcard prospect, nothing else.
Shedeur Sanders isn’t a typical camp arm. He’s a calculated asset in a quarterback room full of question marks. Deshaun Watson’s health is unknown, Kenny Pickett is on his second team in three seasons, and Jameis Winston, a veteran, has been mostly a backup since 2020. In all that, Sanders brings something unique: developmental potential with leadership traits and top-shelf college production already in the bank. His poise at the moment, rapid release, and his football intelligence. All of which developed under the exacting tutelage of his father, providing the Browns with a forward-thinking insurance policy.
He’s also already earning respect in the locker room for his work ethic and dedication to detail. In a team that has gone through over 30 quarterbacks since 1999, holding on to and developing a young star like Shedeur can finally provide the long-term stability the Browns have been pursuing for decades.
The financial gap is wide. A CFL rookie minimum of around $70,000 CAD hardly scratches the surface of Sanders’ already banked $447,000 signing bonus, let alone the seven-figure NIL earnings he pocketed at Colorado. In the past, players go north only when all NFL lifelines fail them or when legal issues exile them.
Toronto’s claim can still act as subliminal inspiration. Sanders’ draft slide came into being mostly due to pocket timing concerns. And a speeding ticket that triggered character red flags in some war rooms. League’s earlier claim reminds him of just how thin his buffer is. A rough preseason game, a poor film session, or a thoughtless tweet could leave that CFL “Plan C” the only door open. The Browns, on the other hand, understand the outside perception. If they cut a high‑profile rookie and he becomes a Grey Cup hero, the fans will gripe. That pressure could make Sanders stick around in orange and brown longer than a normal fifth-rounder!
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