“That’s a Setup”: Shedeur Sanders Takes Issue With Browns Reporter Over Deshaun Watson Question After OT Loss to Saints
Walking off the field after a crushing 23-22 overtime defeat to the New Orleans Saints, the last thing Shedeur Sanders wanted to do was create another media firestorm in Cleveland.
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The Week 9 game marked his first start in the 2026 season. He recorded 19-of-31 completions for 297 yards and secured a clutch touchdown with a 39-yard pass to Harold Fannin in overtime. But when a reporter asked him if that earned him the starting job, Sanders didn’t hold back.
“I think that’s a setup question, honestly,” the second-year quarterback said in the postgame press conference. “I control what I control. But what I think, in the grand scheme of things, don’t really matter. I think being a great teammate, being a great whatever role I have on the team, I could do, because you got to look at the bigger picture. We’re out here connecting with each other, growing, learning in different areas. … You can’t really ever look at the situation as negative.”
Sanders had plenty of reason to keep his guard up during the presser. Ahead of the game, the quarterback smiled when addressing what he made of the Saints’ defense from film.
“I’ve seen a lot,” Sanders said with a grin when asked what he noticed on film. “When I smile, just know that means something. I’m maturing, you know what I’m saying? I’m maturing. I could have gave that a decent answer, but now I’m just going to smile whenever it’s just, like, some questions, you know?”
That had stirred up some conversation. Reportedly, the comment was even referenced by Saints head coach Kellen Moore in a team meeting before the Browns game. However, Sanders made it a point to assert that his intention was misunderstood.
He told CBS Sports’ AJ Ross ahead of the game that everything he did till that point was “taken out of context.” He clarified that he’d “never disrespect or ever talk down another opponent or another team.” Sanders believed that it was simply one of the media tricks that blew things out of proportion.
Sanders knows better than to create a negative image of himself in the media. That might have played a part in his draft slide in 2025. Painstakingly, over the course of the last season and the offseason this year, the Year 2 QB was able to establish a good image for himself. He was the popular choice to be QB1 for the Browns this year, instead of Deshaun Watson.
As far as his earning the starting job was concerned, according to Sanders, every part of the job carries a learning curve. If he gets to play, he could learn to get better with on-field experience.
But he can continue to learn from his peers and make fewer mistakes even when he watches the game from the sidelines.
“Even learn from Deshaun [Watson],” Sanders told the media. “There was a lot of things I learned from just watching him. I would say, just how he keeps same mentality throughout the game. How he don’t really get frustrated up and try to stay the same.
“It’s like a lot of things in how Dillon [Gabriel] is. How in-depth what he is, and how he takes notes and how he does this, this, this, this, and tailing, how exciting he is and the joy that he always has all the time. These are relationships that you learn. And when you’re looking at things from a different point of view. So, you just can never view anything negative.”
Shedeur Sanders showed spirit against the Saints. It was only for a missed two-point conversion in overtime that failed to get Cleveland past, losing to New Orleans by just one point. Whether or not this earns him the starting job next week remains to be seen.
