In a way, what we are seeing over the past two days since Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders‘ father and former coach, Deion Sanders, appeared on Garrett Bush’s podcast is exactly the reason that all 32 teams got cold feet when it came to picking Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL draft. Sure, there was talent, but there was not enough talent for Sanders to be a Week 1 rookie starter, and organizations cringed at the notion of there being a distraction and a circus around the team while Sanders was on the bench.
That was the case last year before Sanders was made the team’s starter for the final seven games of the year. And now, Deion Sanders is saying he wants to meet with head coach Todd Monken to help him to motivate his son and former player.
There has been an attendant outcry and criticism of the Browns that has followed, and then the natural clap-back against Deion Sanders for suggesting that an NFL team should consult with parents on the psychology of their adult children.
Deion Sanders Called Out Browns
Here’s what Sanders said about Shedeur Sanders and the Browns, via Pro Football Talk:
“I was supposed to go, actually next week but I’ve got to shoot a commercial, to Cleveland to meet [Monken],” Sanders said. “Because I want to meet him. Because I think it’s vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about [Shedeur], how to get him going. That wasn’t asked of me a year ago. I don’t understand it.
“Even a guy like Travis Hunter being drafted to Jacksonville and I’ve had him for the last three [seasons], don’t you think you would want to talk to me to ask me what gets him going and what backs him off? You would want to know that. So, I anticipate, and I can’t wait to have that conversation with Coach Monken.”
Shedeur Sanders Does Not Benefit From Special Treatment
There is a segment of fans of Shedeur Sanders that occupies a corner of the Browns social media sphere and that will forever see him as a victim–of an NFL conspiracy, of the Browns, of coaches, of the Cleveland media. That segment batters anyone and anything that does not support the notion that life has been unfair to Sanders, and that he is a Hall of Famer in waiting.
For most, though, Sanders is so-so young quarterback who needs improvement but has a chance to be a decent (maybe even a good) starter in the NFL. And when Deion Sanders says things like this, it does not help Shedeur Sanders at all–it makes him look pampered and coddled in the eyes of teammates and fans.
Deion Sanders Should Not ‘Inject Himself’ Into Browns, Shedeur Sanders Situation
As Browns analyst Pete Smith of The OBR wrote on Twitter/X, NFL players should not need their dads to explain to teams how they should be motivated: “How to motivate him? He was a 5th-round pick when he thought he was a 1st and STILL got a chance to start games. If he’s not motivated, he’s not that guy. I hope the kid succeeds, but this only serves to make him look worse.”
Speaking on ESPN Cleveland, former NFL Super Bowl champ Je’Rod Cherry said, “I think that’s the worst thing you can do, is inject yourself into it. … What are you gonna say that’s going to–he is going to look at you from a biased standpoint, regardless.”
And on Fox Sports radio, former Jets and Cardinals DB Kerry Rhodes put it best: “Two things can be true. Shedeur did go through hell, but partly because of his own shenanigans and his own ways. The fact that they don’t take any responsibility for their own accountability is part of the problem with the Sanderses. There is truth to this, but when you speak on only the things that have been done to you as a person, I think that starts to wear on people.”
Deion Sanders Faces Backlash Over Shedeur Sanders-Browns Request