Ex-Browns WR Steve Sanders reflects on NFL career, new partnership with US Sports Camps

USA Today

15-04-2025

Ex-Browns WR Steve Sanders reflects on NFL career, new partnership with US Sports Camps
This week, Touchdown Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Steve Sanders about youth mentorship, his football career, and entrepreneurship.
Sanders, a camp director for US Sports Camps, reflected on his current occupation before diving into his NFL experience.
"I got the opportunity to partner with the US Sports Camps to oversee Nike Football camps in Georgia," Sanders explained. "It was just a perfect fit; It's been great because we're launching a six-week training program starting May 5th here in Georgia. After all, the kids will get a more developed, deeper understanding of fundamentals and skills, character development, and leadership training, and they will get it for an extended period. So that's going to be awesome to do."
During his collegiate career at Bowling Green, Sanders tallied 156 receptions for 2,324 yards and 24 touchdowns. Though he hoped to be selected in the 2006 NFL draft, Sanders entered the league as a free agent and had to blaze his path as a young prospect.
"It was interesting because I really thought I was going to get drafted on draft night," Sanders said. "Even preparing for the draft, I had a lot of the teams, the scouts, and even some of the GMs that I had conversations with, and everyone spoke highly of my talent and said they would draft me. I knew I would be kind of a day two guy, where I would go, probably somewhere between the fifth and seventh rounds, just because I went to a smaller school in the MAC (Mid-American Conference) then. So, I thought that I was going to get drafted. So I'm sitting there watching the draft, and I'm excited. My name doesn't get called, and you know that it was kind of a little bit of a letdown. Still, it also motivated me to learn how much harder I had to work.
"Even though I was going to the NFL and undrafted, I still got the opportunity to go there, so I just came in with the mentality of being the first one in, first one out, last one in on the field. And that's what I did my entire career. So I remember getting a call from the browns or my agent telling me that the Browns wanted to sign me. I thought that was a no-brainer because I was from Cleveland. I grew up wanting to be a Brown, and if the Cleveland Browns would have me, that would be a dream come true. So, getting that opportunity to go there and start my career was a dream come true. So, just being a kid from Cleveland, I got involved in the community. I did everything I could. And I wasn't a star player; I started my first year on the practice squad. I went to NFL Europe and played over there. I did well, but then I returned to the Browns and played two more seasons there. "
When his time in Cleveland ended, Sanders signed practice-squad contracts with the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals, which gave him a greater perspective on life in the NFL.
"Those [practice squad] guys deserve a lot of credit; number one, because they work hard in trying to make the team [and] number two, [because] they're preparing the guys who are playing on Sundays and giving them the right looks," Sanders explained. "It's an essential and critical part of a successful team — to have guys who understand their role and work hard at making sure the team is successful, even though they're not the ones who will be playing on Sundays.
"I took that approach. If I had to be Chad Ochocinco that week, that's who I was. If I had to be Megatron [Calvin Johnson], that's who I was. And I took pride in it because I knew my opportunity would come eventually. So I worked every day like I was going out there to play on Sundays, even on the practice squad. So, coming with that mentality, I think it spoke well to my character and work ethic and showed the coaches that this kid deserves an opportunity. So when I got my chance, I took it."