Deion Sanders faces quarterback struggles at Colorado without son Shedeur

The Colorado Buffaloes football team and head coach Deion Sanders are in a quarterback conundrum, as Sanders can no longer lean on his son Shedeur this season, after Shedeur went to the NFL. 

Colorado, 1-2, made the decision, per multiple reports, to give the starting quarterback job back to Kaidon Salter this week after Salter previously lost the job to Ryan Staub. Staub started Colorado’s 36-20 loss to Houston on Friday, throwing two interceptions. 

Salter started the first two games, going 1-1, throwing for 261 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions across those two games. 

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Head coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado speaks about his journey beating bladder cancer during a press conference in the Touchdown Club at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, July 28, 2025.  (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

The team has also played freshman quarterback Julian Lewis. After loss to Georgia Tech to start the season, Colorado played all three quarterbacks in a 31-7 win over Delaware.

Sanders leaned dependently on his son as his quarterback throughout the father’s coaching career. 

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Sep 16, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) and head coach Deion Sanders following a two point conversion in the fourth quarter against the Colorado State Rams at Folsom Field. (Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports)

Shedeur led Colorado under center each of the last two seasons after Deion took over as head coach in 2023. Before then, Shedeur started for his father at Jackson State from 2021-22. 

Before that, Deion Sanders coached Shedeur throughout high school at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, serving as the offensive coordinator for his son’s entire high school career. 

Now, they are navigating football without that father-son, coach-player dynamic for the first time. 

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) takes the field in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)

So far, without Shedeur as a dependable starting quarterback, Deion hasn’t found his sure starter at Colorado. 

And without Deion as coach, Shedeur hasn’t been able to crack the top-two on the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback depth chart, as he is currently the third-stringer behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel. 

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