Shedeur Sanders made his regular-season NFL debut on Sunday, and Rex Ryan was not impressed with the way the Cleveland Browns quarterback carried himself.
Sanders replaced Browns starter Dillon Gabriel after halftime of the Browns’ 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Gabriel had suffered a concussion late in the first half, which paved the way for Sanders to see his first meaningful NFL action.
Sanders did not play well. He finished just 4/16 for 47 yards and an interception. He was so disappointed after the game that he sat on the bench by himself for a while and reflected.
Ryan was not a fan of that move. During Monday’s edition of “Get Up” on ESPN, Ryan said Sanders has “gotta get over himself.”
“He’s there by himself on the bench. I’ve never seen that,” Ryan said. “I’ve seen it in the seventh game of the World Series when you lose the game or whatever. This is a game that’s a pillow-fight game. Nobody cares. Did he care, or are you trying to make it a show and make it about yourself?”
Ryan felt it was a bad look for Sanders to be sulking on the bench while Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was on the field looking to shake hands.
“You’ve got a guy over there that, by the way, is a two-time MVP in Lamar Jackson. He was looking for you. He was looking for you right there,” Ryan added. “Share a moment with him, alright? Share a moment with Lamar. He’s looking all over for you. Then get in there with your teammates. These are your teammates. Talk about, ‘I’m not comfortable losing.’ You think anybody in that locker room is? They better not be.”
Rex Ryan on Shedeur Sanders sitting on the Browns bench by himself following their loss to the Ravens in his NFL debut: "Did he care? Or are you trying to make it a show of making it about yourself?" pic.twitter.com/TH9livTBwx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 17, 2025
The Browns would probably disagree with Ryan that the game didn’t mean anything. And if Sanders called the game meaningless and seemed happy afterward, Ryan might have blasted him for that instead.
The point Rex was making is that no one enjoys losing, and Sanders should not have been pouting alone after a regular-season game while his teammates were out on the field shaking hands. One on hand, the reaction shows that Sanders cares. On the other, it makes it seem like he does not know how to handle a bad game.
Of course, this is not the first time Ryan has been critical of Sanders. Rex ripped the rookie earlier this season, and Sanders’ mother responded in a social media post that she quickly deleted.
