Did Cleveland Browns head coach just hint he regrets signing Shedeur Sanders?



Many football fans complain that Shedeur Sanders is a nepo baby — someone who has achieved prominence due to family connections (nepotism) rather than merit. They argue that his famous father, Deion Sanders, has laid a golden path for him, leading Shedeur to undeserved success.

Whether it was installing him as the starting quarterback at Jackson State University and later at the University of Colorado Boulder, where Deion ensured Shedeur was named the team’s quarterback without competition, or leveraging his own fame to secure high-profile NIL deals and public endorsements for Shedeur, Deion has consistently paved the way for his son’s success in football and beyond.

Maybe it worked for a while, but now that Shedeur is in the NFL playing for the Cleveland Browns, it seems Daddy’s influence is beginning to backfire, as it becomes clear that Shedeur isn’t the superstar Deion has made him out to be.

On October 7, the Browns traded first-string quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, pushing rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel to first string and Shedeur to second string. But during a press conference, head coach Kevin Stefanski avoided directly naming Shedeur as the clear QB2 behind Gabriel.

When asked by a reporter if Shedeur would now be the backup quarterback, he said, “I’ll let the week play out, make a decision later on that.”

For a few days, there was speculation that Bailey Zappe, who plays on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad, could be promoted to the QB2 spot over Shedeur, but earlier today, Stefanski officially named Sanders as the backup quarterback behind Gabriel.

Even still, his hesitancy speaks volumes.

Jason Whitlock, BlazeTV host of “Fearless,” reads between the lines: The Browns don’t have a ton of faith in Shedeur Sanders.

“This is a no-win situation. If [Shedeur] succeeds, everyone’s gonna say, ‘Why didn’t he play to begin with?’ But if he fails, it’s like, ‘Well, they put him in a position to fail,”’ contributor Steve Kim says. “I think Stefanski’s in a real catch-22 here.”

Jason sees Stefanski’s reluctance to immediately confirm Shedeur as the number two quarterback as “an indictment of Shedeur Sanders and an indictment of the Browns organization.”

“What it really says is, ‘We shouldn’t have kept this guy,”’ he says.

“They’re keeping Shedeur out of some sort of political or fear factor or some other agenda other than what’s best for [the Browns’] roster.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the video above.

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Shedeur Sanders set to start tonight for Browns’ preseason opener, but is he being set up to fail?



Tonight, the Cleveland Browns will face the Carolina Panthers for their preseason opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. To the surprise of many, rookie draft pick Shedeur Sanders will start as quarterback, making his NFL debut.

Some critics suspect that he’s being intentionally teed up for failure. One of them is Stephen A. Smith.

“I think he’s being set up to fail,” Smith said on a recent episode of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“There’s been 11 practices, if I remember correctly. [Sanders] has been playing against the third unit, he’s fourth on the depth chart, and then suddenly you throw him into the starting lineup, and he hasn’t had any reps with the first team at all?” he asked skeptically.

“It’s like you want him to fail. I’m not accusing the coaches of doing this; I’m not accusing the [general manager] of doing this. But that owner — Mr. Haslam — that’s a different animal right there.”

Jason Whitlock accuses Smith and other black broadcasters of turning Shedeur Sanders into a victim when he’s the furthest thing from it.

For starters, Whitlock notes, the claim that Sanders is being intentionally set up to fail falls flat when you consider that the Browns’ top two quarterbacks — Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel — are currently dealing with hamstring injuries. That leaves the team with 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco, who should be reserved for emergency situations; Tyler Huntley, who just signed with the Browns days ago; or the only option that makes sense — Shedeur Sanders.

Given the circumstances, Sanders is a competitor with an opportunity to shine, not a victim of a rigged system, Whitlock says.

Smith and others “constantly want to turn black men into victims rather than warriors, rather than competitors, rather than opportunity seekers. Everything is about, ‘We’re being set up for failure,’” he condemns.

There’s zero chance, he argues, that Sanders, as the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, is being intentionally victimized.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Shedeur Sanders tonight,” Whitlock says.

The victim narrative, he speculates, is coming straight from Deion, who’s paved the way for Shedeur’s entire career.

Smith and others are “falling under the spell of Deion Sanders, who wants to make excuses for his boy. ... This is all about lowering the bar for Shedeur,” Whitlock says.

To hear more of his commentary, watch the episode above.

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Jason Whitlock exposes the truth behind Shedeur Sanders’ social media hype



Over the weekend, the Cleveland Browns hosted their three-day rookie minicamp, where the team’s 2025 NFL draft picks, undrafted free agents, and tryout players got their first taste of NFL practices.

One of those players was Shedeur Sanders, who, despite being a fifth-round draft pick, continues to be the talk of the league.

Jason Whitlock speculates that the undeserved hype surrounding Sanders could be the very reason so many teams passed on him.

“The amount of attention, the over-the-top adulation that is being given to a fifth-round draft choice right now, I think a lot of teams are looking at that and going, ‘That's exactly why he was off our board,”’ says “Fearless” contributor Steve Kim.

Jason agrees, displaying an X post from a Shedeur fan praising him as a “good teammate” and “solid person” just because he took a picture with the tryout players. Other posts have sensationalized his minicamp performance and highlighted volunteer work he’s done, such as visiting a high school.

“Some of this stuff on Twitter makes me think, like, this is bought-and-paid-for PR,” says Jason, speculating that these types of social media posts are “not organic” but rather a Deion-orchestrated PR campaign to rehab Shedeur’s reputation after his draft slide due to concerns about his attitude.

While this facilitated hype around Shedeur might have fueled some of the distaste certain NFL teams felt toward him, the PR strategies might end up working to his advantage in the end.

If Shedeuer ends up being a backup quarterback behind Dillon Gabriel, this hype could increase his trade value and make him desirable to other teams if their starting quarterback sustains an injury.

Jason thinks that’s exactly what Deion and Shedeur are hoping for if he doesn’t land the starting position.

“Deion and Shedeur and their marketing team realized that Shedeur’s reputation and the way he carried himself cost him 30, 40, 50 million dollars, and they're trying to rehabilitate this guy's image as a good teammate and a can't-miss talent,” says Jason. “I think they're hoping that someone has an injury during pre-season or early in the season and Shedeur has some trade value.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the episode above.

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LeBurned out: LeBron James destroys legacy in Los Angeles



Some basketball fans and critics like to argue that LeBron James is the true GOAT of men’s basketball.

Jason Whitlock, however, disputes this, claiming that while James is “a top five, top 10” NBA player, he doesn’t come close to legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Tim Duncan. The hype that’s long surrounded LeBron, he contends, has been driven by the media rather than by genuine success — particularly during LeBron’s seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“LeBron's early years in Cleveland, his four years in Miami, his return to Cleveland, all of that — great,” Jason caveats. However, he adds, “These seven years in Los Angeles have been a psyop, a mirage, a narrative, a script that's been played out. ... The media has lied to us about what's been going on with LeBron James the entire time he's been in LA.”

He compares James’ LA career to the newly released movie “Sinners,” which “critics are overrating,” even though “anybody with a brain” knows it’s “a ripoff of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn.’”

Similarly, LeBron’s time with the Lakers has been marked by media hype and “a lot of failure.” Shannon Sharpe’s role in maintaining the phony LeBron narrative, especially with his funny catchphrase “Lakers in 5,” and the fact that the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 30, 2025, underscore his argument that the media’s narrative has outpaced LeBron’s actual success.

“This man has exited the first round of the playoffs multiple times while a Los Angeles Laker,” says Jason. With the exception of LeBron’s 2020 “bubble title” — a championship won in the NBA’s fanless, COVID-era Orlando quarantine bubble — his career with the Lakers has been “an abject failure."

LeBron’s focus on boosting stats to chase Michael Jordan’s legacy, coupled with poor decisions like hiring rookie coach J.J. Redick, has contributed to his less than stellar record, according to Jason. After the Lakers’ 2025 playoff exit, he warns that LeBron’s overhyped narrative may hurt his legacy, teeing critics up to rank him below Kobe Bryant.

Whitlock extends his media critique by comparing LeBron to Shedeur Sanders, a football player hyped as a star by his father, Deion Sanders, and the media but whose draft slide sparked ridicule.

LeBron’s over-inflated legacy is “no different than what Deion and Shedeur did in Colorado. All that hype,” and now Shedeur “could get cut by the Cleveland Browns, could end up in Canada in all of this reaching to prove to everybody that Shedeur Sanders is ... one of the greatest things to ever happen in college football,” says Jason.

“Now Shedeur is a laughingstock. He's having to go on a PR campaign to try to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.”

Jason believes LeBron’s media-driven hype risks a similar fall, leaving his LA legacy as more illusion than greatness.

To hear more of Jason’s analysis, watch the episode above.

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Atlanta Falcons fined hundreds of thousands of dollars over humiliating phone prank on Shedeur Sanders



An embarrassing phone prank on a prominent football player during the National Football League's draft led to a large fine against the Atlanta team and one of their coaches.

The football player draft picks were overshadowed by the drama surrounding Shedeur Sanders, the son of the former superstar athlete Deion Sanders. He was projected by some to go early in the first round, but his jubilation turned to dread as he was overlooked until the sixth round on the third day.

'We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process.'

Video then surfaced on social media that showed a group of college students pranking Sanders by calling him and pretending to be the coach of the New Orleans Saints. Sanders was led to believe that he was being drafted on the second day, before they hung up and admitted the prank.

Many wondered how the students were able to obtain Sanders' phone number on such a pivotal day.

On Wednesday, the NFL said that Jeff Ulbrich, the Falcons' defensive coordinator, was being fined $100,000 over his involvement in the incident, and the team was fined $250,000.

The team had admitted on Sunday that Sanders' number had been obtained by Ulbrich's son, a 21-year-old college student, after he saw the contact information on his father's iPad. He provided it to a friend and was seen in the background of the video of the prank.

The team responded to the fines with a brief statement.

“We appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure and the event that transpired due to it,” read the statement from the Falcons. “We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process, and accept the discipline levied to Coach Jeff Ulbrich and the organization.”

Jax Ulbrich also publicly apologized to Sanders in a post on Instagram.

“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish,” he wrote. “I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment. Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Sanders was chosen 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns.

Even President Donald Trump jumped into the debate and called the owners of the NFL teams "stupid" for snubbing the player despite his "PHENOMENAL GENES."

Sanders had been ridiculed by many online for organizing a lavish party, along with his personal branding and a ritzy handmade diamond-studded necklace in anticipation that he would be picked far earlier in the draft.

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Blaming Shedeur Sanders’ Late Draft Selection On ‘Racism’ Is As Dumb As It Gets

What's truly 'crazy' is automatically placing nonexistent 'racism' as the source of Sanders' fifth-round selection.

Whitlock: Shedeur Sanders has daddy issues



Conversations about whether Shedeur Sanders is being helped or hindered by his legendary father, Deion Sanders, are circulating throughout the sports world.

Jason Whitlock argues that Deion is an obstacle for his son. The main reason why is that Shedeur “didn't get pushed out of the cocoon” and likely never will.

“There is a process of maturation; there's a process of development where a boy becomes a man and he gets pushed out of the cocoon,” says Jason.

For most boys, they get pushed out of the cocoon after high school graduation. They go off to college or to the military, and a few years later they “come back as a man.” But that wasn’t the case for Shedeur.

“Deion, out of his own desires, never gets his son out of the cocoon. He actually uses his son … to get a job at Jackson State University and then uses his son and Travis Hunter to get a job at Colorado,” says Jason, adding that Shedeur has suffered the consequences of his father’s actions.

Now that he’s headed into the NFL, people are asking: “How's he going to handle not having his dad around?”

Given that Shedeur has “never been coached by anybody but his father” and is already “worth millions of dollars,” it’s looking like trouble is brewing.

“His dad's personality is the personality of a defensive back or a wide receiver, not the personality of a quarterback, and his dad, being one of the greatest players and now being a somewhat successful college coach, will have real strong opinions, credible opinions, on how we're developing and using his son,” says Jason.

He knows that Deion won’t hesitate to “inject [himself]” into matters involving Shedeur. As he's “one of ten greatest football players of all time” and “someone with access to a platform to go at you or expose you,” this creates a “nightmare scenario.”

Any team Shedeur plays for will be subjected to Deion’s opinions and power.

If that wasn’t a big enough headache, any team Shedeur plays for will also have to contend with the lack of humility and deep-rooted insecurities he’s inherited from Deion.

“Deion calls himself Coach Prime, and he pretends to be this hyperconfident person, but he's not, and he's given his son the same radical materialism, the same insecurity,” says Jason.

To hear more of his analysis, watch the episode above.

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Does rapid retirement of Shedeur Sanders’ jersey forecast a Deion exit?



#2 has been scratched off the list of available jersey numbers for future Colorado Buffaloes players. Just three months after his college football career ended, Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders’ youngest son, had his jersey retired. It now resides in Folsom Field, the Buffaloes' home stadium.

Most athletes have to wait years for such an honor. Occasionally, the standard is bent for extraordinary players or in cases of tragic death. Neither applies to Shedeur.

Jason Whitlock says the move to retire his jersey screams nepotism and potentially foreshadows Deion’s exit.

Rashaan Salaam, the University of Colorado’s first Heisman trophy winner, had to wait 23 years for his jersey to be retired, says Jason. Compare that to Shedeur, who “after going 13-12, 1-8 against top 25 opponents” gets “spanked in his only bowl game appearance.”

“He’s like the George Floyd of college football, getting statues and tributes and memorials undeserved,” he adds.

In a press conference, Deion was asked about the controversial decision to retire Shedeur’s jersey. Clearly agitated, he snapped, “If his last name wasn't Sanders, we wouldn't have this discussion.”

“Yes, because if his last name wasn't Sanders, his number wouldn't be retired,” says Jason. “Deion Sanders has turned his son into his sugar baby; he's made him an idol.”

Sanders went on to argue that waiting years to bestow honor on someone is outdated and that we’re in the “now generation,” where instant gratification is the norm.

“I give you your flowers now; I'm not going to wait 20 years down the street, then to bring you back when you limping and barely walk or some tragedy happens to recognize your greatness and what you contributed to this program,” he said, noting that Shedeur and Travis Hunter, whose jersey was also retired, “deserve what they deserve right now.”

“Everything we get is right now; we want something, we order off Amazon right now. We ain't in no waiting generation no more. That's over. That’s a wrap on that,” Deion added.

While he may be right about the nature of our now-obsessed culture, it doesn’t mean we should embrace it as good.

“This is idolatry,” says Jason. “I’m embarrassed for Deion Sanders.”

“Fearless” guest Steve Kim adds, “When Coach Prime said if his name was not Sanders we wouldn't be talking about it, it’s the most unironic self-own I've ever seen. I'm like, ‘Yeah, Coach, we all agree.”’

“I know for a fact that a lot of the great Colorado Buffaloes that have that big shiny 1990 co-national championship ring, who built that program, they're not happy about this,” he says.

Steve argues that the real reason Shedeur’s jersey was retired is not because we’re in the “now generation” but rather because “at this point, Deion Sanders has the leverage.”

Jason agrees. “This to me screams this is Deion’s final year at Colorado” because if he was planning to stay, he would have waited longer than three months to retire his son’s jersey.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip above.

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Ryan Clark blames RACISM for Shedeur Sanders falling in NFL draft



Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders continues to fall in first-round projections for the 2025 NFL Draft — and some people, like Ryan Clark, are claiming that it’s due to racism.

“We all know that they plant these certain reports or they say these certain things, and you do hear the word ‘arrogant.’ Why is he arrogant? Because he won’t walk into the meeting and bend the knee? Or he won’t sit in the meeting and question himself or his abilities or his knowledge and experience in the game?” Clark ranted on ESPN’s “First Take.”

“I’ve had conversations with Shedeur Sanders,” he continued. “And he can do all that. We all know that it’s not just about him being Deion Sanders' son. It’s about the bravado he carries. It’s about the fact that he looks a certain way. It is about the fact that the color of his skin sometimes, at that position, can be questioned.”


“And I believe Shedeur Sanders is going to have to deal with that until he gets on the field,” he added.

Jason Whitlock of “Fearless” is not surprised.

“He has a skin color that can be questioned at that position, according to Ryan Clark,” Whitlock says. “I mean, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts just played in the Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts just won a Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes has won three. I believe Lamar Jackson’s won two or three MVP trophies.”

“What are we talking about, Ryan?” he asks. “These guys, they go a few seconds, a few weeks, ‘Oh I don’t have any traction, let me play the race card.’”

“‘I just got off the phone and Deion’s frustrated Shedeur is not going to go in the first two or three picks of the draft. It must be racism.’ ‘Oh, there’s questions about Shedeur’s arrogance, oh, that must be racism,’” Whitlock mocks.

“People had all kinds of questions about Johnny Manziel’s attitude and arrogance and whether or not he was self-aware enough. Those questions are all perfectly fine. He’s Johnny Manziel. He’s white,” he adds.

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The ONLY reason Deion’s Colorado beat Baylor last Saturday



Since Deion Sanders took over the head coaching position for the Buffaloes football program at the University of Colorado Boulder, Jason Whitlock has been unapologetically critical of the toxic culture that’s ensued as a result of Sanders’ ineffective leadership.

Now that football season is back in full swing, Jason is ready to analyze the coach’s every move, starting with the team's lucky overtime victory against the Baylor Bears last Saturday.

“They know they should have lost,” he says, adding that the win is nothing to be proud of since “Baylor’s not any good.”

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According to Jason, the only reason the Buffaloes won is because “the other coach handed [them] the game with one of the worst defensive calls in the history of football.”

“You leave three guys one-on-one on the final play of the game?! It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen,” he says.

As for the Buffaloes, Jason says their performance is “exactly what we saw last year.”

“Do you remember when they beat Colorado State to get to their 3 and 0 start? They got lucky! ... It’s the exact same thing all over again,” he says pointing to the team’s unfortunate predicament — they “have no right tackle,” “their guards are just OK,” and “their freshman holding tackle ... the all-American five-star kid that they thought would fix everything” is floundering.

That’s not to say that the Buffaloes did nothing right, however. Jason does give some credit where it’s due.

“Hats off to them for diversifying their offense,” he says. “They did switch up some formation stuff and gave [quarterback Shedeur Sanders] some different looks.”

“But at the end of the day, this was about an idiot head coach at Baylor lining up in the wrong defense,” he says.

To make matters worse for Baylor, apparently the head coach, Dave Aranda, threw "a kid on the team way under the bus rather than taking responsibility for calling the wrong defense.”

“It's one of the worst coaching performances in game and after game that I've ever seen,” says Jason.

And as for Deion, he’s still “a clown” in Jason’s eyes.

“His team hasn't really improved. I don't see him winning more than five or six games this year,” he sighs.

Besides the fact that Sanders is still the coach, another reason Jason doesn’t see the team improving this season has to do with the other main leader on the team — Sanders’ son and the quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Last week, “People called out Shedeur for not shaking the hand of the Colorado State quarterback after the game,” and, unfortunately, Deion defended the behavior. “The week before, he walked off the field with two minutes on the clock.”

“Shedeur is a reflection of Deion. Deion has no class so his son has no class,” says Jason.

“The foundational pieces aren't in place for Colorado to build something sustainable.”

To hear more of Jason’s commentary and game analysis, watch the clip above.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.