Two weeks after Shilo Sanders clashed with a reporter over speculation about Shedeur Sanders’ starting role, Deion Sanders stepped in—saying the scars on his son’s back come from “hell,” and arguing Shedeur kept pushing through criticism. The rookie season sta
When the noise around Shedeur Sanders got loud, his family stayed louder.
Two weeks after his brother, Shilo Sanders, went after a reporter for suggesting Shedeur, 24, might not be the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback for the 2026-27 season, their father—NFL legend Deion Sanders—came to his defense following what he called a brutal rookie stretch.
In an interview with “The Barbershop” on Thursday. May 14. Deion. 58. said he sees more than headlines when he looks at his son.. “When he takes off his shirt. I see the scars on his back that he’s been through hell. but he’s made it through hell. ” Deion said.. “He kept going and he matured, not like he was a child, but he matured spiritually.”
Shedeur’s first campaign certainly offered ammunition for critics. In eight games as a rookie in 2025, he completed 120 passes but threw for 10 interceptions compared to seven touchdowns.
Deion pointed to that scrutiny too—especially the chatter that swirled before the 2025 NFL Draft. Rumors claimed Shedeur was unprepared for meetings with teams and allegedly showed up wearing headphones.
“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.”
The Sanders family’s clash with the media isn’t new, either.. Shilo sparked controversy in late April when he told Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot to “go make a sandwich” after she suggested Deshaun Watson could win the starting job over Shedeur.. The next day, he doubled down during a Twitch stream.
“This is to Mary Kay: If you’re gonna be a reporter, be a reporter and report facts,” Shilo said. “Whenever you have your opinion, and your opinion is always something hateful to Shedeur, then it makes it seem like it’s something weird, like, it’s an agenda you have going on.”
Shilo continued. “There is plenty of women in this field that take this serious and take reporting on football serious and actually do homework and study the game and get the statistics right and get the news right.. But with you. it’s so much emotion that I don’t want you to make women look bad when it comes to reporting because you don’t have the will to actually want to report real things that are going on.”
As for Shedeur, he’s largely stayed quiet about the outside noise. After his first win as a starting quarterback in November, he told reporters he knows he has “haters” and said it doesn’t bother him.
“Nobody cares if this was one week of prep,” he said. “Who cares? So, a lot of people want to see me fail – it ain’t gonna happen. It ain’t gonna happen.”
Sanders added, “Everybody starts different places.. Like I said. just because I didn’t get the summer reps just because I wasn’t in the best situation for me to be prepared to go out there and execute from a summer standpoint – that’s how life is.. Everybody’s not in the best situation.. But it’s no excuse.. Gotta go out there and perform.. There’s no choice.. There’s no question.”
Deion Sanders Shedeur Sanders Shilo Sanders Cleveland Browns Mary Kay Cabot Deshaun Watson NFL Draft 2025 rookie season 2025 The Barbershop Twitch stream