Shedeur Sanders failed to get much of anything going in his second career NFL start, completing 16 of 25 passes for 169 yards as the Browns limped to a 26-8 loss to the 49ers on Sunday. Reporters had questions for the rookie quarterback after the lopsided defeat and Sanders, as he's done before, was happy to serve as media ombudsman while answering them. A few days after side-stepping a query about the narrative that his head coach Kevin Stefanski was sabotaging him, Sanders was put on the spot about his feelings regarding Stefanski's aggressive fourth-down decisions.
Cleveland's No. 1 signal-caller weighed in on the politeness of such a line of questioning before figuring out the best way to navigate his response.
"That's a rude question to ask," he said. "I like being out there playing. We're not going to ever be up here pointing no fingers at no coaches. That's extremely disrespectful."
DAMN: Shedeur Sanders calls out a reporter for criticizing head coach Kevin Stefanski.
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) November 30, 2025
“That's a rude question to ask. I like being out there playing. We not going to ever be up here pointing no fingers at no coaches. That's extremely disrespectful”
Wow.pic.twitter.com/SqK4JTzsRb
Add these two answers this week to a strange mime interview several weeks ago and it's clear that the media are going to have to wake up pretty early in the morning if they want to successfully "gotcha" Sanders. It makes all the sense in the world that his guard is up because his career has already been a bit of a circus before he's had an opportunity to write his own opening chapters on the field.
He has every right in the world to answer how he wants to—and when you think about it, the question here is either answered with a "yes" or becomes some sort of ramp for playing up friction with his head coach. So it's perfectly understandable that he wanted to make sure to highlight the spot he's being put in.
On the other hand, that is the position of being a starting quarterback. They are contractually obligated to field smart, dumb and in-between questions from reporters. Giving feedback on the quality of those questions will not make them easier. Not saying what's right, just saying what's real.
So that seems like potentially more energy he has to spend in addition to all that's needed to acclimate to the league. It'll be interesting to see how the relationship between Sanders and the throng of reporters who get regular audiences with him develops over time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shedeur Sanders Calls Out Reporter for 'Rude' Question About Coaching Decisions.
