Michael Vick and his staff defend Shedeur Sanders’ ball-patting

NCAA Football: Colorado NFL Showcase - Source: Imagn

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders is viewed as the second-best QB in the draft behind Miami's Cam Ward. On April 4th, Colorado had its Pro Day and in many of the clips of Sanders, he could be seen patting the ball before making a throw.

When one of these clips surfaced on X, New York Jets safety Andre Cisco called him out, warning him to stop that habit or it would hurt him in the NFL.

"Boy better stop patting that ball, we breakin onnat earlyyyy," Cisco wrote.

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The conversation around this habit started to spread in the week and a half since the Pro Day, with many athletes and media members giving their opinions.

On Saturday, in a clip, former NFL QB and Norfolk State coach Michael Vick and his staff discussed the controversy around Sanders patting the ball. Director of Football Operations DeMarcus McMillan said:

"That's just a dumb n***a saying something. If you pat the ball you're not gonna hear that over 50, 60,000 fans. Talking about, oh I'mma hear the ball pat. A lot of quarterbacks do that. Get a nice little pat."

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Shedeur Sanders responds to criticism about his ball-patting habit

With the conversation building around Shedeur Sanders' ball-patting habit, it wasn't a surprise to hear him asked about it. On Thursday, Sanders appeared on 'Up & Adams,' and in the interview, Kay Adams asked him about the ball-patting habit.

"I think me patting made me have success this far," the QB said. "Me patting the ball got me to the position I am now. So, I don't see what's wrong."

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Despite the criticisms, Sanders is still projected to be a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft. However, it appears less likely that he will be a top-five pick since the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants have already signed QBs in NFL free agency.

With the increased likelihood that Sanders will fall out of the top five, other teams are rumored to have interest in Sanders, including the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Krutik Jain