An unlikely Pro Bowl appearance has allowed Shedeur Sanders to work with a mentor.
Michael Vick is among the coaches for the AFC's Pro Bowl squad. The former Atlanta Falcons star will serve as an offensive coordinator for head coach Steve Young during Tuesday night's flag football game.
Sanders improbably made the Pro Bowl as a replacement for the Super Bowl-bound Drake Maye despite posting a 68.1 quarterback rating in eight games. The 23-year-old discussed his close relationship with Vick on Tuesday's Up & Adams.
"I've talked to him often," Sanders said of Vick. "I talked to him a lot during this year, about everything. He's always been a great resource for me in a great way."
Sanders said he speaks to the Norfolk State head coach "when it feels right."
"If I know you're experienced in this area, then I'm going to call and get advice," Sanders said. "Like, how do I handle certain things? Where does my mind need to go to? How do I navigate life? Because all it is is the game is life. Everybody is playing it, but just in different roles and different everything."
Sanders developed "genuine connection" with Vick
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The relationship between Sanders and Vick isn't a new one forged over flag football. Sanders said last year that he had a "genuine connection" with Vick, crediting the four-time Pro Bowler for "always keeping me level."
Meanwhile, Vick praised Sanders last April before the former Colorado standout slid to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
"Shedeur does a lot of things that I wish I could have done," Vick said on SportsCenter. "Especially throwing the football. His accuracy, his touch, his ability to find the open man is uncanny. His confidence is there. His leadership is there. And Shedeur just has a way of going about it different than other people. Some of us have quiet confidence. Some of us have loud confidence."
Sanders told Kay Adams on Tuesday that his confidence level hasn't changed after his rookie season. He feels he proved he's capable of dominating at the NFL level, but it's a matter of performing consistently.
"Whenever I feel like me," Sanders said, "then everything works out."