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The mother of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is defending her son after ESPN's Rex Ryan berated him on the air Monday morning.
Sanders did not make an appearance in the Browns' 34-10 defeat to the Detroit Lions - falling to 1-3 under starting quarterback Joe Flacco.
In a segment asking if the Browns should bench Flacco, Ryan appeared to call out Sanders in particular: '[Kevin] Stefanski is an outstanding coach, but why the hell isn't he putting Shedeur Sanders? We're all waiting to see if Shedeur Sanders [can be] the guy or [Dillon] Gabriel or whatever... Something's missing.
'Something's missing with this kid. This kid talks and he runs his mouth. Like he said, 'I can be a starting quarterback' with his arms crossed like this. Get your ass in the front row and study and do all that.
'If I know, the whole league knows. Quit being an embarrassment that way. You've got the talent to be the quarterback, you should be. You should be embarrassed that you're not the quarterback now.'
In response, Shedeur's mother - Pilar Sanders - responded and criticized Ryan on her Instagram story.
Rex Ryan on Shedeur Sanders: "This kid talks and he runs his mouth. Like he said, 'I can be a starting quarterback' with his arms crossed like this. Get your ass in the front row and study and do all that. If I know, the whole league knows. Quit being an embarrassment that way.… pic.twitter.com/onAE0caWKu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 29, 2025Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan (R) blasted Shedeur Sanders (L) after a Browns loss that he did not play in. The coach suggested that Sanders wasn't working hard enough.
In response, Sanders' mother posted this defense of her son to her Instagram account
'To young Athletes and Football fans This is what impotent, cancerous, envious energy looks like,' she posted.
'This type of Evile goes waaay back - you can cut it with a knife- embedded in blood and bones seeping through all of the rotting worm holes it has. What and who does he really represent?
'Its' family and peers should be embarrassed to know and let this on their platforms. There's no room for this type in sports. Please [shushing emoji] Tsk tsk tsk Enuff!'
Ryan's defense of Stefanski is odd, considering he has a career regular-season record of 41-47 in Cleveland and went 3-14 last year.
However, that record did come about after the Browns lost their starting quarterback Deshaun Watson for the season.
Knowing that quarterback trouble could be on the horizon, Stefanski and Browns GM Andrew Berry signed Flacco in free agency and drafted both Gabriel and Sanders.
Flacco's gotten off to a rough start, leaving many to wonder when either of the rookies could make their debut.
