Colorado Professional Athletes

Colorado's NFL alumni headlined the league's trade deadline week for all the right — and wrong — reasons, with Shedeur Sanders' future in Cleveland dominating headlines and Travis Hunter cementing himself as one of Jacksonville's most compelling stories.

Shedeur Sanders: Backup, Trade Chip, or Both?

The noise around Sanders reached a fever pitch in the final days of October. With Cleveland's trade deadline looming, the second-year quarterback became one of the most discussed names in the league — despite not taking a single meaningful snap.

The Browns kept the quarterback room crowded, carrying four signal-callers while head coach Todd Monken delayed any definitive depth chart announcement. When Monken finally spoke on Friday, Oct. 30, he confirmed Sanders would retain the backup spot heading into Week 8 against Pittsburgh — hardly a ringing endorsement for a former top draft pick. Dillon Gabriel's return from injury only muddied the waters further, with Cleveland leaving open the possibility of a Sanders demotion.

The trade buzz was real. An AFC South team — reportedly the Indianapolis Colts — was openly urged to pursue Sanders before the deadline, and assessments of his trade value painted a picture of a quarterback whose stock, while uncertain in Cleveland, could still command a return. Sanders, for his part, broke his social media silence during the trade speculation, posting amid the swirl of rumors. The Browns ultimately held every quarterback on the roster through the deadline.

The week had its indignities, too. A video circulated of Sanders being trash-talked on the sideline during Cleveland's game against the Tennessee Titans — a game in which he never threw a pass. Meanwhile, the Browns worked out former Colorado teammate Xavier Weaver, a reminder of how closely the organization has tracked Sanders' college connections.

Bernie Kosar has been quietly working with Sanders in private sessions, and the Browns' decision to hold him through the deadline suggests that investment isn't being discarded — yet. But with Deshaun Watson posting a 300-yard performance and the quarterback carousel spinning, Sanders' path to the field in Cleveland remains murky.

Travis Hunter: Two-Way Star, One Big Fine

While Sanders navigated uncertainty, Travis Hunter gave Jacksonville fans something to celebrate — even if the NFL's finance department had something to say about it.

The former No. 2 overall pick was fined $14,926 by the league for a mid-game celebration during the Jaguars' Week 6 loss to the Houston Texans, making him the latest casualty of the NFL's aggressive retroactive fine policy. The infraction wasn't flagged live, which has become a league-wide frustration.

On the field, Hunter's role expanded in Week 6, with Jacksonville deploying him more heavily on the offensive side. Head coach Liam Coen praised the performance but was deliberate in managing expectations — the Jaguars plan to ease Hunter into his two-way workload rather than overextend him early. At 4-2 coming out of their bye, Jacksonville has reason to be careful with an asset this rare.

Hunter also made headlines off the field, publicly defending Deion Sanders amid Colorado's difficult 2-5 season — a show of loyalty to the man who recruited and developed him in Boulder.

Around the Rest of the Roster

Elsewhere, LaJohntay Wester logged one catch for 15 yards in Baltimore's 13-35 loss to Cincinnati on Oct. 25. Brady Russell was active for Seattle's 20-3 win over Kansas City but did not record stats.

Colorado's NFL footprint is wide — but this week, all roads led back to Cleveland and Jacksonville.

Travis Hunter Is Already Doing Things Nobody Else Can

In a 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium, Travis Hunter did something the NFL hadn't seen in decades — and maybe ever at this level. The former Colorado Heisman winner caught 4 passes for 59 yards and a touchdown on offense, then flipped to cornerback and snagged an interception on defense. Two-way production, one afternoon, one of the biggest stages in the league's international calendar.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence called it "special." Head coach Liam Coen made clear it wasn't a fluke — Hunter's two-way role is part of the plan, not a novelty act. Snap count analysis from Week 6 confirmed the Jaguars are deliberately expanding his defensive reps, giving him a growing runway on both sides of the ball. The loss stung, but in Jacksonville, the conversation immediately shifted to what Hunter's ceiling actually looks like.

Off the field, the moment had its own subplot: Hunter's wife Leanna publicly called out Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe in an Instagram post following the performance, and Sharpe responded via video. Whatever the backstory, the attention only amplified what was already an extraordinary week for the former Buff.

Sanders' Window in Cleveland Is Narrowing Fast

While Hunter was turning heads in London, Shedeur Sanders was facing a much grimmer reality back in Cleveland. The Browns shuffled quarterback reps in practice ahead of Week 7, with Dillon Gabriel's return from injury directly threatening Sanders' hold on the QB2 spot. Multiple reports indicate trade buzz has picked up around the former Colorado starter, with Cleveland's decision-makers now openly committed to Deshaun Watson — who has the Browns sitting at 4-2 — for the foreseeable future.

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken addressed the situation bluntly, explaining that the Browns bet on Watson's ceiling over Sanders' upside. Former linebacker Willie McGinest delivered a similarly unvarnished message to Sanders, warning that hype from college doesn't translate to job security in the NFL. One report even flagged Sanders' notable absence from a team celebration following a Browns win — a detail that, whether fair or not, added fuel to a growing narrative about his standing in the locker room.

The question is no longer whether Sanders starts in Cleveland. It's whether he's still on the roster by the time Week 7 kicks off — and if not, which team, if any, sees enough upside to make a move.

Landman Ruled Out as Rams Manage Injury Concerns

Quieter but worth tracking: Rams linebacker Nate Landman was ruled out for Week 7 against the Raiders, adding to a string of injury concerns in Los Angeles. The $22 million starter's absence leaves a hole in the Rams' linebacking corps as the team navigates a crowded stretch of the schedule. No timeline for his return was specified heading into the week.

---

It's a week that captures the full spectrum of the NFL experience for Colorado alumni: Hunter rewriting what's possible on a football field, Sanders scrambling to prove he belongs on one, and Landman sidelined while his team pushes forward without him. The Buffs are in the conversation — just not always for the same reasons.

The Shedeur Sanders Situation Just Got Louder

The move was quiet by itself — a quarterback hiring his first-ever agent. But in Cleveland, it landed like a depth charge.

Shedeur Sanders officially signed with Adie von Gontard of Young Money APAA Sports this week, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, ending a stretch in which the former Colorado Buffaloes star had been representing himself throughout his NFL career. The decision was notable enough on its own. What made it seismic: von Gontard also represents Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter, Sanders's former Colorado teammate. The shared agency connection immediately fueled speculation that Sanders could be maneuvering toward a reunion with Hunter in Jacksonville.

That's the loudest of several trade destinations being floated. CBS Sports analyst John Breech named both the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins as potential suitors, pointing to each franchise's quarterback uncertainty. The Jacksonville angle adds a narrative layer that's hard to ignore — two Buff alumni, a shared agent, and a Jaguars team in the AFC South race.

The reality, for now, is more mundane. Sanders remains a backup behind Deshaun Watson in Cleveland. He hasn't played meaningful snaps this season, and multiple NFL insiders — including one cited by The Sporting News — said they'd be "surprised" if the Browns moved him imminently. Cleveland's position appears to be that Sanders is part of the plan, not a problem to solve. Still, the Browns are reportedly planning to pursue a new franchise quarterback in 2027, a signal that neither Watson nor Sanders is viewed as the long-term answer — which only adds fuel to an already smoldering situation.

No trade request has been filed. No deal is imminent. But in the NFL, hiring an agent at this particular moment, with this particular agent, does not happen in a vacuum.

Hunter Steps Up in Jacksonville's AFC South Fight

While his former quarterback's future dominates headlines, Travis Hunter was locked in on the present Sunday — and so were the analysts tracking him.

Sports Illustrated identified Hunter as a central figure in the Jaguars' Week 6 matchup against the Houston Texans, framing his assignment as one of the key chess pieces in an AFC South clash with real standings implications. Hunter caught 1 pass for 9 yards in the Jaguars' earlier win over the Eagles (19-17) in Week 5, a modest statistical line that belied his impact as a matchup weapon. Against Houston, the degree to which Jacksonville's offense could deploy Hunter in favorable alignments figured to shape the outcome.

The Jaguars, with Hunter and fellow Buff Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig on the roster, have become something of a Colorado pipeline in the pros — and the Sanders-to-Jacksonville trade chatter, however speculative, only deepens that connection in the minds of Buffs fans watching closely.

Around the League

Elsewhere for Colorado alums: the Rams fell to the Bills 34-37 on Monday, with linebacker Nate Landman active for Los Angeles. Isaiah Oliver's Titans were routed by the Texans 3-26 on Sunday — a rough day in Nashville. LaJohntay Wester was on the field for Baltimore's 30-23 victory over Atlanta. Brady Russell appeared in back-to-back Seattle games, with the Seahawks dropping both — a 29-32 loss to San Francisco on Sunday and a 14-17 defeat to Denver on Thursday.

The week belonged to Sanders, though. Whether he's in Cleveland, Jacksonville, Dallas, or Miami come November is the question every Colorado fan should be watching.

Travis Hunter Is Already a Problem for NFL Offenses

Eleven games into his NFL career, Travis Hunter is making the Heisman hype look understated.

The Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback played all 76 defensive snaps against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 — the first time he'd done so as a pro — helping Jacksonville claim a 22-17 win to move to 3-1 on the season. It wasn't just the workload that turned heads. According to Sports Illustrated, the Jaguars' brass is already treating Hunter as one of the league's elite corners, a remarkable designation for a player barely three months into his professional career.

The snap count itself sent a message. Hunter's lack of offensive snaps against Cincinnati drew some attention, but the Jaguars' coaching staff offered a straightforward explanation: the defensive side of the ball is where Hunter is earning his keep right now, and Jacksonville isn't going to mess with what's working. Per Heavy Sports, the Jaguars' recent flurry of secondary roster moves — adding depth behind Hunter — suggests the organization is building around him as a cornerstone at corner, with the two-way role still a longer-term conversation.

Jacksonville is rolling, and the former Colorado two-way star is a big reason why.

---

Shedeur Sanders and the Trade Rumor That Won't Die

While Hunter is cementing his future in Jacksonville, fellow Buff Shedeur Sanders is navigating a murkier situation in Cleveland.

The Browns sit at 3-1, but the quarterback conversation in Cleveland is anything but settled. Deshaun Watson has held onto the starting job and is quietly silencing doubters, which has paradoxically made Sanders — a rookie — the subject of a swirling trade market. Multiple outlets reported this week that the Browns have fielded inquiries, with the Jets surfacing as a potential destination.

Browns insiders pushed back hard. One Cleveland reporter flatly called the trade talk overblown, and a separate SI piece laid out four concrete reasons why dealing Sanders this early would be a mistake. The organizational line, per Heavy Sports, is that Cleveland has a long-term plan for Sanders at quarterback — Watson's current role notwithstanding.

Sanders himself addressed the noise publicly, telling Cosmopolitan he's been misunderstood nationally and questioning why his public perception has taken on a life of its own. "Why would people think this?" he said, per CBS Sports. A sideline video that circulated during the week briefly stoked drama, but the Browns' staff pushed back on that framing too, calling it misleading without full context.

The subplot took an almost surreal turn when Shilo Sanders — Colorado's other first-round product, now with the Buccaneers — was filmed taking Shedeur house-hunting in Fort Lauderdale. Whether that's a sign of anything or just brothers being brothers, Browns fans probably didn't love the optics.

---

Around the Buffs

Rams linebacker Nate Landman was handed a first-strike suspension by the NFL ahead of Los Angeles's Week 4 game against the Saints, tied to an incident involving a teammate. The punishment marks the first formal discipline of Landman's career.

Chiefs rookie offensive tackle Kahlil Benson had a week that went beyond football — the former Buff shared personal life-changing news during Kansas City's bye week, adding a celebratory note to what's already been an impressive early NFL stretch for the lineman out of Boulder.