Six players from the Colorado football team are in Denton, Texas, preparing for the annual East-West Shrine Bowl.

Only five of the six are planning to play in the game, however.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders accepted an invitation to the 100th Shrine Bowl and is in attendance this weekend, but he will not participate in practices or the game.

Practices began Saturday, and the game will be held Thursday (6 p.m. MT, NFL Network) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“It was definitely tough not being out there, but I came here for a purpose, for a reason, to meet with the teams so they could understand me and get to know me,” Sanders told media after Saturday’s practice.

Sanders is projected as one of the top picks in the NFL draft in April, and his decision to not play in the Shrine Game is no surprise. Top players, particularly quarterbacks, often don’t participate in postseason all-star games.

Last year, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix participated in the Senior Bowl, but the top three quarterbacks in the draft — USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye — did not play in an all-star game. The top quarterbacks in the 2023 draft were not all-star game participants, either.

Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are viewed as the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft and possibly the only first-rounders.

Ward is not participating in an all-star game.

Sanders did meet with NFL teams on Friday, however, including the Tennessee Titans, who have the No. 1 pick. He also reportedly met with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, who have the second and third picks, respectively.

“I like that I’m able to get in the forefront of everything and they’re able to understand me and ask me whatever question they want,” Sanders said. “I’m not ducking, I ain’t hiding, I’m right here live in the flesh able to answer whatever questions are out there.”

Sanders, Ward and CU cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter are widely projected as the top three picks in the draft.

On Friday night, the Shrine Bowl announced a few additions to the roster, including UCLA’s Ethan Garbers to take Sanders’ spot on the West team. Each team has three active quarterbacks. Minnesota’s Max Brosmer and Missouri’s Brady Cook will quarterback the West team, along with Garbers.

Kyle McCord of Syracuse, Cam Miller of North Dakota State and Payton Thorne of Auburn are the quarterbacks for the East team.

While Sanders won’t play, five other Buffs are in Denton and expected to participate for the West squad: receivers Jimmy Horn Jr., Will Sheppard and LaJohntay Wester; and safeties Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and Shilo Sanders, Shedeur’s older brother.

Fans can watch Shrine Bowl practices for free on Lights Out Sports TV (lightsoutsportstv.com), which was created by former NFL star Shawne Merriman.