For two years, Steve Smith Sr. publicly labeled Jerry Jeudy as ‘just a guy.’ So when Jeudy got into a heated sideline exchange with his rookie QB, the last person anyone expected to defend him was Smith himself. During the Cleveland Browns’ tough 26-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, receiver Jerry Jeudy and rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders got into a spat on the sidelines. Naturally, there was more hate going towards Jeudy for not charging at Gabriel the way he did with Sanders.

But amongst all this, something surprising happened: Steve Smith Sr. took Jeudy’s side.

“My rookie year I was on a team that was 1-15, getting run through every week, which is a little discouraging, but I want to tell you this, man, stop! Trying to make something out of nothing. Especially if you wen’t on the sideline to hear everything that was transpiring and going on,” he said.

The moment everyone saw was captured by the CBS broadcast at the start of the fourth quarter. The Browns were down 17-8, and during a break while at 2nd & 7, Jeudy got very animated with Sanders while discussing a play. You could see Jeudy clapping his hands and giving his opinion. Sanders shook his head, and center Ethan Pocic had to step in and gently pull them apart. As fans criticised Jeudy, both Deion Sanders and Smith have agreed that public criticism of a player’s sideline disagreements should be limited, especially by those who were not present. Coach Prime shared his approval, liking Smith’s post on Instagram. 

On Wednesday, Jeudy addressed the media and confirmed it was simply a disagreement about a specific play, and the whole thing is already over.

“We spoke about it. We’re good,” Jeudy told the press. “It’s an emotional sport. Things like that happen. It’s football.”

Jeudy also pointed out that if they had just talked away from the cameras, the media and fans would have never blown it up into such a big deal.

Rookie QB Shedeur Sanders, who was making only his second NFL start after an impressive debut, didn’t want to dwell on the incident either. He emphasized the importance of not letting frustration pile up and trusting the hard work they put in during practice.

Now, let’s come to the most shocking part for Browns fans. It was seeing a respected legend like Steve Smith Sr. speak up so openly and quickly to defend their receiver. To understand why Smith’s defense was so shocking, you have to go back two years to a feud that started with a simple, dismissive acronym: J.A.G.

Steve Smith and Jerry Jeudy’s old feud over calling him a J.A.G.

One of the NFL’s more out-of-nowhere feuds once again surfaces as Steve Smith takes a stand for Jerry Jeudy. The conflict began about two years back because Smith, a retired star wide receiver and now analyst, was not impressed with Jeudy’s performance as a first-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos. On his podcast and on TV, Smith publicly criticized Jeudy, calling him a “J.A.G.” (which stands for “Just A Guy”) and an “average wide receiver” because he felt Jeudy hadn’t played up to his potential.

The situation became very heated just before a game in October 2023. Steve Smith tried to find Jeudy on the field to apologize face-to-face for his harsh words. However, Jeudy responded poorly, rejecting the apology with a strong curse word and walking away. This made Smith extremely angry, and he went on a very emotional, on-air rant where he fiercely repeated his criticism. He said Jeudy was mentally unable to handle criticism and warned other teams not to trade for him, calling him a disappointment for a first-round pick.

“I’m sorry that I said you were a J.A.G., just a guy. Who’s an average wide receiver who they used a first-round pick on that isn’t doing anything,” Smith said. “I hope today that you actually show up in a way that you haven’t showed up in the last couple years since they drafted you. So if you ever have a problem with Agent 89, I’m sorry, for saying that you’re an average wide receiver that they will eventually move on (from).” He said.

But later he apologized, saying demeaning the player wasn’t his intent. Eventually, both men decided to move on. Jeudy later suggested he should have listened to Smith’s attempt to apologize at the time, and Smith apologized for getting so emotional on TV, though he stood by his original critique.

The feud officially ended when they talked privately. In a positive turn, the story shows growth, as Steve Smith recently gave Jeudy genuine praise after a strong 2024 season where Jeudy had a career-high 1,229 receiving yards with the Cleveland Browns, finishing sixth in the NFL for the season.