Today, Shedeur Sanders may very well be on his way to making waves as one of the NFL’s rising stars, playing for the Cleveland Browns. Yet, amid the excitement surrounding his career, there has been a constant buzz about his personality, with some reports even questioning his football intelligence. But to no one’s surprise, his father, Deion ‘Coach Prime’ Sanders, didn’t seem much pleased with these insinuations as he delivered a sharp response to the critics.

“You can’t try to make my son have to be no dumb negro man with all the tutelage and all the persons that have been in his life to help him elevate even besides. Hey, don’t do that,” said Deion in an interview with Garrett Bush. “That, that now that bothers brother right there. Don’t do that. Don’t make us out to be fools. We have never been dummies.”

A standout at Jackson State and Colorado, everyone viewed Shedeur Sanders as one of the top prospects entering the 2025 NFL draft. However, things changed completely when Shedeur went undrafted till day 3 and was eventually selected by the Cleveland Browns as the 144th overall pick. Now, this is where the media started putting a different spin on Shedeur’s pre-draft process.

A lot of insiders, analysts, and reports cited Shedeur’s interviews with the teams not going well as one of the biggest reasons behind his falling draft prospect. Deion Sanders, himself, confirmed the same narrative during the interview.

“It was some ignorant things came out about him pre-draft and all that, and that was a lie,” said Coach Prime. But he was also quick to note that none of the media speculation and allegedly false narratives influenced Shedeur; rather, he didn’t let the negative bias get to his head and instead focused on the opportunity he was given.

“A lot of things that was said … it bothered me, but it didn’t bother him,” Deion said. “He just wanted the opportunity to get on the grass and do his thing.”

When the Browns QB initially entered his rookie season with the franchise, starting off at the training camp, he wasn’t given any first-team reps, and most of his practice was limited to backups and young players. In fact, Sanders was only given first-team reps ahead of Week 12.

When Sanders became the backup QB in Week 6 and eventually started his first NFL game in Week 11, the decision followed harsh criticism, as he didn’t play at the level expected following his collegiate career.

Among the three QBs in Cleveland, Shedeur led the team with the most sacks, 23 in eight games played, followed by Gabriel with 19 sacks in 10 games, and Flacco with nine sacks in 4 games.

Apart from his on-field performance, the media have also weaponized Shedeur’s highly confident, sometimes brash demeanor. Shedeur has often called out reporters for asking “rude” or “disrespectful” questions.

A few weeks ago, Cleveland Browns Pro Football HOF reporter Mary Kay Cabot also endorsed Deshaun Watson over Shedeur Sanders as QB1. Now, this added fuel to another controversy surrounding the 24-year-old. Fueled by anger over the criticisms surrounding Sheduer, his family, including his elder brother Shilo Sanders, made some harsh comments.

Shilo even passed a sexist remark questioning Cabot’s assessment of his younger brother. “Go make a sandwich, Mary,” he wrote on Instagram.

While many deemed the remark offensive, Deion Sanders came to his elder son’s defense. During an appearance on The Pregame Network podcast, Deion explained the reasoning behind Shilo’s comments against the Browns reporter.

“Shilo’s gonna stand up for his family because that’s just his fight for the family. That’s just how he gets down,” said Deion. “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.”

From defending media-driven “dumb” critics at Shedeur to backing Shilo’s stance against reporter Mary Kay Cabot for his brother, Deion stood in the middle, supporting his son.

Deion Sanders wants to discuss a few things with head coach Todd Monken

Deion Sanders was visibly disappointed with the Cleveland Browns’ coaching unit last season after what they did with Shedeur Sanders. Deion was highly critical of former head coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff for not giving Shedeur first-team reps during training camp, only to thrust him into action later in the season without proper development.

For the 2026 season, new head coach Todd Monken has included Shedeur as one of the potential starting quarterbacks and has also given him the primary first-team reps to kick off the Browns’ voluntary veteran minicamp. Looking at the changes this year, Deion, who is not only Shedeur’s father but also trained him from 2021 to 2024 at Jackson State and Colorado, wants to share some insights about his son’s game with Monken and to help him understand Shedeur’s skills and abilities.

“I was supposed to go, actually, next week, but I’ve got to shoot a commercial, to Cleveland to meet [Monken],” Deion told Garrett Bush. “Because I want to meet him. Because I think it’s vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about [Shedeur], how to get him going. That wasn’t asked of me a year ago. I don’t understand it.”

Last year, Shedeur recorded 1,400 passing yards and seven touchdowns. However, heading into the 2026 season, competition for the starting quarterback position is heating up with veteran QB Deshaun Watson also making a return. Now, only time can tell which of the two will secure the spot.