SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shedeur Sanders is excited to play for new Browns coach Todd Monken.

The rookie quarterback said he felt a “connection” after meeting with Monken at the team facility after the longtime offensive coordinator was hired last week.

“I’m thankful I was able to meet Coach, that he accepted that time that I could meet with him and all I can do is work,” Sanders said Monday before practice for the Pro Bowl Games.

Monken was Baltimore’s offensive coordinator the past three seasons. Lamar Jackson was the AP NFL MVP in 2023 and first-team All-Pro in 2024 under Monken.

“It’s truly great that he was able to coach Lamar and he was able to accomplish everything that he was able to accomplish in his life and his career,” Sanders said. “I feel like we definitely have a connection just in talking to him and seeing kinda like his vibe and he has a great vibe about him.”

Despite starting just seven games for Cleveland, the fifth-round pick was selected as a replacement for the league’s flag football all-star game between the two conferences.

“Yes, I was surprised,” Sanders said. “It wasn’t like I was just sitting there expecting it. ... I’m not going to lie, a lot of the time I’m taking it day by day, having that method. ... If you would tell me that this was going to happen at the beginning of the year, I couldn’t say that that would’ve happened. It’s amazing. I’m truly thankful for it. I get to come here and be around all these great players and coaches. It’s surreal.”

Sanders was expected to be a top-five pick in the draft last year but slipped to 144th. The Browns selected quarterback Dillon Gabriel ahead of him in the third round. Sanders got an opportunity after veteran Joe Flacco was traded and Gabriel got six starts.

Sanders went 3-4, completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 68.1 passer rating.

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The Las Vegas Raiders are working toward finalizing an agreement to make Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak their head coach, a person with knowledge of the discussions said Sunday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no contract was in place and no announcement can be made until after next Sunday's Super Bowl between the Seahawks and New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California.

Kubiak interviewed with the Raiders on Saturday for the second time and appeared in recent days to be their primary target.

Kubiak, 38, would be the third coach in three seasons for the Raiders and fifth full-time leader since they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. He succeeds Pete Carroll, who went 3-14 in one season in Las Vegas after a storied run with Seattle that included two Super Bowl appearances and one championship.

Kubiak likely will be counted on to mold Fernando Mendoza, who led Indiana to the national championship, into the franchise quarterback the organization has long sought. The Raiders own the top pick in this year's draft, and they are expected to use that selection on the Heisman Trophy winner.

The front office will have nearly $90 million in salary cap space to surround Mendoza with talent, the second-highest amount in the league, according to overthecap.com.

It was Kubiak's work with Sam Darnold that got the Raiders' attention. Darnold, taken third overall by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL draft, had been considered a bust until leading Minnesota to a 14-win season in 2024. But the Vikings moved on from Darnold, and he proved that season was no fluke, winning 14 games in Seattle en route to making the Super Bowl against New England.

Kubiak's father, Gary, coached Denver to the Super Bowl title in the 2015 seasons, and he played quarterback for the Broncos from 1983-91. Gary and Klint Kubiak would be the 10th father-son pair to serve as NFL head coaches, including interim coaches.

Kubiak also has two brothers who are on staffs of other NFL teams — Klay with San Francisco and Klein with Dallas. Klay Kubiak, the 49ers' offensive coordinator, also interviewed with the Raiders.

The Raiders have been searching for a path back to their glory days. Three Lombardi Trophies sit in the team's facility, but the Raiders haven't won a playoff game since their last Super Bowl appearance in the 2002 season. They have made the postseason just twice since then, most recently in the 2021 season.

Owner Mark Davis, frustrated at the lack of success, put the search in the hands of minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek.

Brady was notably complimentary of Kubiak while serving as the Fox Sports analyst during the NFC championship game last Sunday between the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams NFC. Darnold completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle's 31-27 victory.

Davis also made it clear that Brady and Spytek will oversee football operations even beyond the coaching search.

The Raiders interviewed 15 candidates.

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