A few days ago, Cleveland Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot wrote that Deshaun Watson would likely be QB1, pushing Shedeur Sanders to the side. When his brother, Shilo Sanders, hit back with a harsh comment, it turned into a big fight online. Now Deion Sanders has stepped in, explaining why he thinks Shilo reacted the way he did.

“Go make a sandwich, Mary,” Shedeur commented after Cabot reported on the Browns’ QB battle. Shilo’s comments quickly drew public backlash, with prominent personalities calling him out for “crossing the line.” But for Shilo and Shedeur’s father, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, the comment was a result of a discourse Mary Kay Cabot seemingly started.

“Shilo’s gonna stand up for his family because that’s just his fight for the family. That’s just how he gets down,” Deion Sanders said yesterday on ‘The Pregame Network’ podcast. “The thing about Shilo, he feels as though if you say something about us in the realm that he’s in because he’s in his lane now, he can say something about you. But you can’t get sensitive when he does, because you said something about us. …You kicked it off.”

To Deion Sanders, Shilo’s outburst isn’t just anger—it’s a reflection of how today’s media works. He feels reporters stir the pot with opinions, then act shocked when families or players fire back. In his eyes, once you step into that arena, you can’t be fragile if someone swings back.

Despite Shilo’s comments, Mary Kay Cabot’s reporting was based on legitimate facts. Shedeur started last year only because Joe Flacco got traded, Dillon Gabriel went down due to injury, and the same happened to Deshaun Watson. In his start last year, the former Buffs QB managed to accumulate just 56.6% efficiency and also threw 10 interceptions. If Watson weren’t healthy, Shedeur would have been the favorite for the QB1 spot, but the Browns have invested heavily in Watson.

Deshaun Watson is entering the final year of his fully guaranteed $230 million contract, so the Cleveland Browns naturally want to maximize their investment. Watson has also returned to full fitness, and several reports, including those from Mary Kay Cabot, claim that he is “pulling ahead” in the quarterback competition even as head coach Todd Monken refuses to name a QB1. The Browns’ indecisiveness regarding the starting quarterback role has also fueled the controversy.

“I just don’t understand why you would go through the pomp and circumstance and the distraction of taking Shedeur, yet clearly you don’t think he is the guy,” ESPN’s Jake Trotter said. “Because you would not be thinking about starting Deshaun Watson if you thought Shedeur Sanders had a chance to be the guy. Again, I don’t understand the inconsistency with how they handle that situation.”

For many Browns fans and reporters, Mary Kay’s logic is simple: Watson may be hit‑and‑miss, but he’s the one with the fully guaranteed $230 million on the line. Shedeur is talented, but he’s also a rookie with limited chances and a bunch of mistakes. In that sense, the call to start Watson is less about hate and more about the team’s money and risk.

Mary Kay Cabot is a well-respected veteran reporter and is also the winner of the prestigious Bill Nunn Memorial Award. The Pro Football Hall of Fame also honored her for her “long and distinguished reporting” in the field of pro football. The dominant discourse surrounding the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition seemingly backed her report and grounded it in facts about the QB1 battle.

Many observers say Shilo crossed a line, but in Deion’s view, the root of the issue is different. For Deion Sanders, though, the whole issue arises from two different “styles” of media in football right now, with no rules to govern what’s right and what’s wrong.

Deion Sanders provides his reasoning for Shilo’s controversial comments

Shilo Sanders has been in controversy ever since high school. In a 2015 incident, a school security guard accused a 15-year-old Shilo of assaulting him, causing permanent injuries. The guard sued Shilo and the Sanders family, resulting in a default $11.89 million judgment against him. In its response, the former Buffs safety filed a bankruptcy application, arguing self-defense, and the lawsuit still drags on until now.

Thereafter, when Tampa Bay handed over a rookie contract to Shilo, he got himself terminated from the team after punching a player on the field. Now, a fresh controversy has erupted for Shilo, as he refuses to back down and apologize for his remarks. He even doubled down on his remarks and called Mary Cabot biased against Shedeur. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has now presented his reasoning, defending Shilo’s comments.

“It’s two different styles going out right now. It’s old-school media, and it’s new-school media,” Deion Sanders said. “And they haven’t gotten together to understand the rules because we have no commissioner in this social media game now. Everybody feels like they could shoot at this person just because they have a platform. And oftentimes that’s not right because you just have to think if we combine everything that family-wise and shoot back, it’s going to hurt.”

Deion Sanders’ frustration stems from the “media powerhouses” speculating on things when there is no official announcement. He called his family a “media powerhouse” itself and warned that if they got together, they could easily shut “some stuff down.” But since “it’s not the family way,” they don’t do it often. For now, though, with Deion Sanders’ remarks, the controversy will drag on. And it might have been wise to play down the controversy, as Coach Prime did two weeks back.