GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders is still on the board following the first round of the NFL draft.
The New York Giants passed on the former Colorado star quarterback twice, including with the No. 3 pick Thursday night. Las Vegas (at No. 6), the New York Jets (No. 7), New Orleans (No. 9) and Pittsburgh (No. 21) also said no thanks to Sanders, and that's four teams seemingly in need of a signal caller.
How far will Sanders fall now?
He will definitely be available when the second round begins Friday with QB-needy Cleveland on the clock. The Browns hold two of the first four picks in the round.
“We all didn’t expect this of course, but I feel like with God, anything’s possible, everything’s possible," Sanders said in a video posted on YouTube on Thursday night. “I don’t think this happened for no reason. All this is, is of course fuel to the fire. Under no circumstance, we all know this shouldn’t have happened, but we understand we’re on to bigger and better things. Tomorrow’s the day. We’re going to be happy regardless.”
There was some thought a team would trade into the bottom end of the first round and grab Sanders. But no one did.
The Giants looked like they might. They sent three picks to Houston for the 25th overall selection and then chose Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart over Sanders. TV cameras showed a solemn Sanders family watching and waiting in Canton, Texas.
Concerns about Sanders’ arm strength have become an issue in recent weeks, although his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, laughed at that notion. In 50 collegiate games, Shedeur Sanders threw for 14,347 yards, with 134 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He completed 70.1% of his passes and ran for 17 more scores.
He finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. Former Colorado teammate Travis Hunter went second overall to Jacksonville, which traded four picks to move up three spots and select the Heisman winner.
But Sanders didn't get the same first-round party. Although there was some speculation he might slide to the second round, most outsiders figured someone — maybe a big-city franchise — would take a chance on the talented player who brings an entourage.
Sanders previously said he didn't need the bright lights of Broadway or the Bellagio. “I could bring cameras and eyes anywhere I go,” he said. And he insisted the attention wouldn't bother him one bit because, as his father said, he was raised to keep calm and carry on.
“One thing I learned is to not really care about anybody’s opinion but those around us who matter,” Shedeur said.
His father has been outspoken all along the way.
“We’ve already won. We came from a private school. And we came from an HBCU. We’ve won," Deion Sanders said. "Shedeur’s getting drafted. He’s going in the first round. ... We’ve won, man. We’ve already won.”
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FILE - Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of Iran’s judiciary signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Trump repeatedly has warned that the United States may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran held a mass funeral of some 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations after authorities earlier said it would be 300. Tens of thousands of mourners attended, holding Iranian flags and photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The caskets, covered in Iranian flags, stood stacked at least three high. Red and white roses and framed photographs of people who were killed covered them.
People elsewhere remained fearful in the streets. Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks.
“We are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests,” said one mother of two children shopping for fruits and vegetables Wednesday, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “We have heard many are killed and many are injured. Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I’m scared to send my children to school again.”
Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities.
“People were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone,” Tavakoli said. “The people do not have guns. Only the security forces have guns.”
Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television online.
“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” he said. “If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”
His comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions an interview with CBS aired Tuesday.
“We will take very strong action,” Trump said. “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”
“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”
One Arab Gulf diplomat told the AP that major Mideast governments had been discouraging the Trump administration from launching a war now with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” for the region that could explode into a “full-blown war.” The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists.
Meanwhile, activists said Wednesday that Starlink was offering free service in Iran. The satellite internet service has been key in getting around an internet shutdown launched by the theocracy on Jan. 8. Iran began allowing people to call out internationally on Tuesday via their mobile phones, but calls from people outside the country into Iran remain blocked.
“We can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,” said Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran. “We tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.”
Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.
Security service personnel also apparently were searching for Starlink dishes, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.
Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.
Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
FILE - This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a ceremony to mark the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
