No matter your opinion of Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one thing that can be said with certainty is that he is media savvy. Throughout his brief tenure as the starter for the Browns–and even when he was in the backup role–Sanders has engaged with, and sometimes sparred with, reporters but has done so in a way in which he is respectful while also being careful not to throw any teammates or coaches under any buses.
Sanders talks a lot when he is at the podium, and even before the draft, when he plummeted to the fifth round after having first-round projections, one fear about him was that he would be too difficult to keep under wraps, that he would too often go off-message and put his team and coaches in an awkward position.
But on Sunday, after the Browns lost in a tough game against the Bills, a game that sent their record to 3-12, Sanders was asked about coach Kevin Stefanski’s decision not to punt on a make-or-break fourth-down play from the Browns’ own 44-yard line, a play saw that saw Sanders brought down for a 13-yard loss on a sack.
Shedeur Sanders: Questions From Media ‘Separate Us’
Sanders clearly felt that the question was being asked to nudge him into criticizing Stefanski and his decision to call for the Browns to pass in that situation. Sanders returned fire.
“I know you can’t be asking me that question. C’mon, man,” he said at first, shaking his head.
“We can’t—see, we can’t, that’s the thing: If we want to change the narrative, change the franchise, if we want to help, we gotta speak. Those type of things, like separate us. A lot of the players get these types of questions and then we want to be working with you all, we want to be proactive. But when you ask questions or when questions are asked of us players where it is you are, like, pinning stuff against each other, it’s like, come on, now.”
GettyCleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is on the hot seat.
Browns Players Tired of Divisive Questions
Sanders went on to explain that the negativity that sometimes comes from the Browns media–at least as far as he and other players see it–serves no purpose and only pushes members of the team to shun reporters when they can.
Of course, it’s a 3-12 team coming off a 3-14 year in 2024. Fans and media do not have much to be positive about. But Sanders took exception to the idea that media members were trying to turn the Browns against themselves. It can be debated whether the question was, indeed, designed to do that. But Sanders’ teammates surely applauded his stand.
As he said: “It’s like a thing in the locker room, where it is like, we are not going to be able to talk to them. We are not going to be able to give them what they need because that separates a team. That don’t help any team in any situation, no matter how you answer it.”
And so, Sanders did not answer it.
Browns’ Shedeur Sanders Fires Back at Reporter Over Coach’s Decision