Bart Scott, Mike Tannenbaum rip Shedeur Sanders for controversial comments about NFL QB play

Shedeur Sanders made headlines for all the wrong reasons ahead of Week 4. Following the Browns’ huge win over the Green Bay Packers, the rookie quarterback decided to boast a bit about his own ability.

Sanders still hasn’t seen the field yet as a rookie in Cleveland. But he made sure to point out his belief that he’s one of the top 32 quarterbacks in the NFL at the moment.

“If you see the quarterback play in the league right now,” Sanders said, via ESPN Cleveland. “I know I’m capable of doing better than that.”

Well, that hasn’t sat right with many. During an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up, former NFL defender Bart Scott took Sanders to task for his comment, perceiving them as disrespectful.

“That’s not your line, right? Your line is just to say, ‘Hey, I’m here trying to get better. I’ll be ready. I’m going to do my best.’ You’ve got to get better in silence,” Scott pointed out. “Sometimes reporters are just sitting around, and they’ll put a camera in your face. You think they’re your friend, you feel good because you’re getting some attention since you’re not the starting quarterback. You say something without realizing it’ll blow up like this.

“The last time we saw him in the preseason, against guys who are probably pumping gas right now, he didn’t look so good. He needs to just listen, improve and don’t poke the bear.”

That’s a pretty poignant response from Scott. He’s far from the only one who felt that way. Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum harkened back to his days in the league, calling Sanders’ comments “tone-deaf.”

“Rex [Ryan] always used to say: say anything you want, just name two teammates and a coach. Right now it’s all about celebrating your teammates, getting better, getting coached, and getting developed,” Tannenbaum added. “He’s really a good kid, but this just came off as tone-deaf. You’re a fifth-round pick, just trying to find your way.”

All told, Mike Greenberg recognizes Sanders’ comments will do one thing — add fuel to the fire for his detractors: “I want so badly for him to get a chance this year to show what he can do,” the host of Get Up added. “Things like this make me mad because they just add fuel to his detractors. It was obviously a mistake. It goes without saying he shouldn’t have said it. He did, and now we move on.”

As you can tell, Sanders believes he’s ready, but it’s tough to back him for many around the NFL when he makes off-color statements like this one. We’ll see when his shot comes, but Joe Flacco has the Browns coming off their biggest win in quite some time ahead of a Week 4 showdown against the Detroit Lions.