Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders tries to put out the fire he claims he didn’t try to start. Sanders says he had no intention of giving any material to the New Orleans Saints scoreboard before their Week 9 game, even though his comments were perceived that way by his opponents.
“Everything I’ve done so far has been taken out of context, but I can’t care what people say,” Sanders told CBS Sports’ AJ Ross before the game. “I would never disrespect or disparage another opponent or another team, so it’s just another thing in the media that they use. It doesn’t matter how they feel, they feel. I don’t care how they feel.”
Sanders will make his first start of the season Sunday with Deshaun Watson in the concussion protocol. In that capacity, he conducted a media availability session before Wednesday’s contest and made an eyebrow-raising comment about the Saints and a defense that ranks 28th in yards per game allowed and 29th in scoring.
“I’ve seen a lot of it,” Sanders said with a smile when asked what he noticed about the film. “When I smile, know that it means something. I’m maturing, you know what I’m saying? I’m maturing. I could have given a decent answer, but now I’m just going to smile every time it’s just, like, a few questions, you know?”
Sanders may not have openly criticized New Orleans’ defense, but his body language made it clear he saw a unit he could make out during his film study. The second-year player would be far from the first quarterback to come out on top against this team, which allows 233.3 yards per game through the air, but the Saints could come out with added motivation to stop him following these remarks.
Count Carl Granderson among those who saw what Sanders had to say.
“We’re definitely going to come in with a chip on our shoulder,” Granderson said. “They chirped a little bit. We see what the quarterback said. We’re finally going to come in hot and ready to play. We’re going to pack the defense, and the offense is going to come with it. It’s going to be a good game, that’s for sure. We’re going to come out with the dub.”
Since his college career, Sanders has long been a lightning rod for attention off the field. The former fifth-round pick and son of Deion Sanders is never one to shy away from speaking his mind.
For the first time this season, Sanders has the opportunity on Sunday to back up his speech with his play on the field. He was briefly involved in last week’s 27-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers when Watson took a big hit in the first quarter, but he only attempted two passes and threw just three times this year. The start of Week 9 will mark a return to the starting lineup for the first time since last season, when he spent seven weeks as the Browns’ No. 1 quarterback.
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