Ryan Clark Announces New Project Outside ESPN as Peter Schrager Ignores Apology

Is Ryan Clark officially done with ESPN? Nothing official so far. But his latest project does hint towards it. Though the safety-turned-analyst has ESPN still attached to his profile, he’s said to be on thin ice following his unfiltered, out-of-the-head-of-moment statement for colleague Peter Schrager. So, instead of waiting around for a verdict, he decided to take things into his own hands. It’s a new YouTube series! 

Yes, the former safety is stepping into a new arena beyond ESPN. He just announced on his official X and Instagram handles that he’s launching his own YouTube channel with an exciting series. It’s titled, “RC NFL Season Training Tour.” The catch? Clark admitted he’s a little out of shape right now, which is hardly a surprise given the fact that he hung up his cleats a decade ago in 2015. With the kind of honesty fans love, Clark shared a glimpse of his first video, where he’ll be training at home in Arizona with trainer Ian Danney at PEP. “Went through the whole assessment… long story short. I’m stiff, weak, fat, & immobile. The workout crushed me. I needed a bucket. But I’m alive! Stay tuned for more,” he wrote as a caption. 

Clark has always been the guy to take his chances. He came to the league as nobody in 20025, didn’t get his chance to start until 2005, but he left having a Super Bowl ring to his name and a title among the most respected players. It remains a mystery whether this new venture would work, but he sure isn’t losing hope. The first episode of the YouTube series is dropping this Friday, and Clark promises it’ll be a wild ride.  

“Am I in bad shape now? Absolutely. Have I been in worse shape than this? Probably not. But you gotta start somewhere,” he said in the short two-minute clip. Could that be a hint at his career trajectory as well? Maybe, maybe not. But there’s one thing for sure: Clark is indeed starting somewhere. 

Things started going downhill for him with ESPN last week. During a discussion on whether CeeDee Lamb was to be blamed for the Cowboys’ loss against the Eagles, Clark went a bit off-script. “We shouldn’t do this on TV. So, I apologize if people think this is rude: That’s the non-player in you,” he asserted, interrupting his colleague, Schrager, when he questioned, “Are you saying A.J. Brown had a better day than CeeDee Lamb?” 

The 13-year veteran apologized later for insulting Schrager publicly, calling his words an unprofessional lapse. While ESPN has reportedly accepted his apology, Schrager hasn’t responded, which seems reasonable since he asked Clark not to belittle him like that. The details remain under wraps, but the silence from Schrager has fans curious about the tension behind the scenes.

Ryan Clark faces growing backlash 

Despite Clark’s apology, he’s reported to be on thin ice. Analysts from the network have avoided touching upon the subject. But Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports didn’t miss the chance to comment. On the latest edition of his FS1 show ‘Wake Up Barstool,’ called the former Super Bowl champion “one of the all-time jerks in the history of mankind.” Contrary to Clark’s words, he claimed one doesn’t need to be a player to have an opinion. 

“I get playing the game, but there are a lot of morons who played the game, and there are a lot of bad GMs who played football, there are a lot of bad coaches who played football,” he said on Monday. Portnoy also took a brutal jab at Clark, stating that the only time he makes headlines is when he picks a fight with someone. 

Interestingly, he wasn’t the only one to criticize Clark’s blunt words. Kyle Brandt of NFL Network didn’t exactly address the “non-player” comments; instead, he took a shot at Clark. “And a special shout-out to the non-players today. We see you, we respect you, on our set, and on several others,” he said while opening the show. Such criticism appears to be mounting from all sides and from insiders. If anything, it hints at Clark’s shaky standing at ESPN. The question moving forward is whether he can translate apologies into lasting change or risk becoming a cautionary tale in sports media.