Kevin Stefanski on Shedeur Sanders prank call during draft: 'People are morons'

Shedeur Sanders wasn’t the first NFL Draft prospect to be prank-called during draft week, and he certainly won’t be the last. According to Browns head coach Kevin Stefanksi, Sanders might not even be the only case this year alone.

Stefanski used a specific word to describe the people who tapped into his new quarterback’s phone on day two. The Browns would eventually select Sanders the following day in the fifth round.

“People are morons,” Stefanksi said. “… I mean, it’s sad that these young men have to deal with this. That happened a lot in the green room in Green Bay. Guys were getting calls, so it’s silly, but onward and upward.”

Video emerged of the alleged Shedeur Sanders prank callers during the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Colorado quarterback received a phone call from someone pretending to be New Orleans Saints GM Mickey Loomis.

The Saints ended up drafting Tyler Shough (Louisville) in the second round, rather than Sanders whom they were linked to. Sanders questioned the legitimacy of the phone call shortly after being hung up. How the video got leaked is anyone’s guess. An apparent burner account posted the video of a couple of males trying to pull off the call. One was wearing an Ole Miss shirt. It remains to be seen if the culprits will be identified in the future.

Sanders would have to wait three more rounds, which bled into day three of the 2025 NFL Draft — a slide that no one expected. In the end, Cleveland would trade up to snag Sanders in a surprising move given they had already drafted a quarterback (Dillon Gabriel) the previous day.

“I think all of our guys, every player, when they come into the draft, knows what number they were picked or if they were unpicked, and you can use that as motivation,” Stefanski continued. “We don’t care once they walk in the doors. Don’t care [if you’re a] first-round pick, seventh-round pick — undrafted. Once you’re here and you’re on our football team, you’re a part of this culture. You’re part of this family and we’re just going to keep our head down and get to work.”

Sanders is now one of five quarterbacks on the Browns roster. That includes Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel and now Sanders. Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry confirmed that Sanders is going to have a chance to compete for the team’s starting job along with the rest of the QB room. What he does with that opportunity remains to be seen.