Shedeur Sanders made it clear on Sunday will not participate in drills at the NFL Combine, leaving one of the two passers seen as a first-round lock to wait until his Pro Day to throw. At first, it was unclear if the other (Cam Ward) would take the same route. 
When speaking to the media on Friday, though, Ward confirmed he will not throw at the Combine either. The Miami passer noted, to no surprise, he will participate in on-field work during his Pro Day. Today’s news confirms the consensus top two passers in the 2025 class will be available only for medical checks and interviews in Indianapolis, continuing a growing trend seen in recent years.
Throughout the early portion of the pre-draft process, it was clear a gap existed between Ward and Sanders and the rest of the prospects who will be available in April. More recently, Ward has gained ground in terms of being viewed as the top option; as a result, he is a contender to hear his name called as early as first overall given the top of the order. The Titans will be in the market for a quarterback to compete with Will Levis, although they have made it clear they are open to moving down the board.
Tennessee, as expected, has already received calls about the availability of the No. 1 pick. A shortlist of teams prepared to move up the board to secure a QB exists, and the Raiders – previously linked to Sanders – were recently named as a contender to trade up with the intention of selecting Ward. Vegas’ evaluation of both signal-callers (like that of all other teams) will continue to evolve over the coming weeks with Pro Days and private workouts.
Neither Sanders nor Ward will not throw at the Combine, but that will be the case for some of the other quarterbacks in the class. The likes of Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Riley Leonard (Notre Dame) are already known to be participating, and other passers looking to boost their stock in Indianapolis will receive increased attention over the coming days.
Hmmm
It’s not like this is unusual or surprising.
am I the only one who thinks this is such a losers mentality? I know a LOT of guys defer to their pro day now, but it seems like “yea I will not perform for you under your tests, I will only show you what I can do with an entire schedule I can practice to a T and is all pre controlled and predetermined by me”. These are your future bosses you’re shunning cuz you’re too scared you won’t be prepared enough to perform at an elite level? I dk call me old school but this would pull a guy right off my draft board it annoys me so much
Teams bring guys in for workouts before draft so that is their unscripted test…
Works the same both ways. Pro teams had an entire season to watch and judge a player’s abilities, but that’s not enough? They need a few days of “testing,” which are NOT actual game situations, to figure out if a guy has ability or not?
When you are trying to impress a future employer, taking that kind of attitude about it probably doesn’t bode well. Personally I’m obviously not an NFL GM, but the combine would be more about their willingness to compete against EVERY college prospect in front of all the NFL brass. it wouldn’t even matter to me that much how well I thought they did. but running from that? that tells me you’re A. not that competitive of a person and B. that you don’t love football that much. You see all these interviews with coaches saying they want to find guys that LOVE the game. if you don’t want to compete at a combine, how much do you really love it? It seriously would take the guy right off my draft board if he didn’t at least try at the combine (outside of people who are skipping for injury reasons). Frankly, I’ve seen the videos of both Shedeur and Cam practicing, and they aren’t real ball players. and that’s why they’re skipping this. They just wanna maximize their draft position and make as much money on that rookie deal as possible so they can max out before holding a clip board the rest of their careers
Some of these guys are afraid they’re going to look like college QBs compared to Will Howard
With NFL making it more of a spectacle than actual draft process, really no need to perform as a sure top pick. Why line their pockets more when the prospects aren’t getting paid?
The top prospects are busy interviewing anyways, pro days, and then being brought in by teams for more test.
Prospect or MORE THAN ENOUGH paid! The stupid NIL has taught these kids nothing but greed without actually earning the actual pay. Matter of time before NFL implements rules for these woke product kids requiring them to show for combine or forfeit draft status of some sorts. These kids need to learn that ACTUAL HARD WORK earns them the money they seek.
College football is hard work and dangerous work that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for other people. It’s right that they can get paid for it.
Kansas State Will?