Shedeur Sanders made his NFL debut on Sunday as he came in for Dillon Gabriel after the Cleveland Browns starter suffered a concussion. The intensely covered and scrutinized fifth-round pick did not immediately set the Earth on fire, struggling to a 4-for-16 performance with 47 yards and an interception as the Baltimore Ravens were able to claw back and captured a 23-16 victory.
It's not completely shocking to see a quarterback that started No. 3 on his team's depth chart this season struggle when thrown into action for the very first time. Because it's Sanders, though, there was extra attention paid to his every move on and off the field. The rookie's decision to sit by himself on the bench after defeat became final—and not greet Lamar Jackson for a handshake—may be nothing but it may also become a thing.
On Monday morning's Get Up, Rex Ryan wondered what that move was all about.
"He's there by himself on the bench," Ryan said. "I've never seen that. I've seen it in the seventh game of World Series when you lose a game or whatever. This is a game, it's a pillow fight game. Nobody cares."
Rex Ryan on Shedeur Sanders sitting on the Browns bench by himself following their loss to the Ravens in his NFL debut: "Did he care? Or are you trying to make it a show of making it about yourself?" pic.twitter.com/TH9livTBwx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 17, 2025
When Ryan's collegues at the desk interjected that Sanders cared, the former coach opened up questions about the quarterback's motivations.
"Did he care or are you trying to make it a show, make it about yourself .... These are your teammates. These are your teammates and talking about 'I'm not comfortable losing.' You think anybody in that locker room is? They better not be."
Sanders didn't mince words about his performance when he addressed the media after the game.
"I don't think I played good," Sanders said. "I don't think I played good at all. I think there's a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable with even throwing routes with Jerry [Jeudy] and throwing routes with all those guys. I think that was my first ball to him all year. But other than that, I just think overall, we just got to go next week and understand, so that we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do."
"I think you've seen, it was just rough, overall," he added. "It was a rough day, overall. But the thing that I was excited about is just being able to get out there. This is the first time I got hit since my last game at Colorado. So, just having that feeling back is good, and I feel fulfilled overall when it comes to being out there, practicing, going in between the lines, seeing what it's actually like.
Depending on Gabriel's status, Sanders could get another chance under center against the Las Vegas Raiders this coming Sunday. Rest assured that everything he does will be heavily dissected.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rex Ryan Didn’t Love What Shedeur Sanders Did Immediately After Browns’ Loss.
