There has been no bigger lightning rod in the NFL over the last five months than Shedeur Sanders.
ESPN’s Ryan Clark, who has been a known vocal supporter of Shedeur and the entire Sanders family, criticized the coverage and social media discourse surrounding the fifth round draft pick.
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Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was accused of sabotaging Sanders in the preseason, which led to his eventual status as QB3 on the depth chart.A silly, baseless conspiracy with zero merit. Clark made it clear just how nonsensical the accusation was, simply stating the reality when it came to Sanders.
“What it is that they’re doing is they’re treating Shedeur Sanders like a fifth-round pick,” Clark said recently on “Get Up.”
“We’re not covering every fifth round pick in the NFL, hoping that he gets the opportunity to be the starter on Day 1. We felt like, oh my goodness, they got a diamond in the rough.
“Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round. They felt like they evaluated him there, and that’s where they picked him.They’re playing the guy that they picked in the third round over him because they evaluate him at a higher level than what they do Shedeur Sanders.”
Veteran Joe Flacco has been named Cleveland’s starting quarterback for weeks, while third round pick Dillon Gabriel won the backup job, leaving Sanders as the emergency third-string QB.
Clark was heavily criticized for his comments and later released a statement on social media to clarify.
“I love @deionsanders and his family, but I want my voice to mean something. I refuse to make things up to appease people,” Clark wrote.
“Parts of Shedeur’s process has been handled with biased & disingenuous intention… but hard to believe the 1 team that actually drafted him is now sabotaging him!
“I know how we see him, but that’s not how the NFL does. That’s something I had to accept, & y’all do to.”
Clark is known for being a vocal analyst for things that happen on and off the fieldCredit: Getty
Sanders is QB3 in ClevelandCredit: Getty
Shedeur’s father, Deion Sanders, responded under the post.
“We love you my brother and I’m speaking for the Sanders family. Keep on being u. I respect u admire u and can count on u to keep it (100)!” Sanders wrote.
There is no beef between Clark and the Sanders family. Clark gets paid to do a job and call it like he sees it. That’s what he did.
Clark did note that he believed Sanders should have been drafted earlier, but he ultimately slipped to the Browns in the fifth round at No. 144—and that’s now his path forward, whether people like it or not.
“Fifth-round draft picks get fifth-round treatment, even if we don’t feel like they deserve to be drafted in the fifth round,” Clark said.
“So you’re gonna play with some guys who don’t make the team. You know who else you’re going to play against? Some guys that don’t make the team.
“As an undrafted guy, I understand that I wasn’t going to get the reps as the fifth-rounders or the sixth-rounders. Just as I understand, Shedeur Sanders will not get the same reps as a Dillon Gabriel.”
The Sanders discourse has been filled with disingenuous remarks and claims over the last few weeks that reached a boiling point at the end of the preseason.
However, that is all in the past. The Browns open their season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and then they’re off and running.
If Flacco falters, then Gabriel will get a shot. If he fails, then Sanders will likely get a shot. That’s the pecking order.No conspiracies, no hoaxes, no fabrications.
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