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Sports pundit Skip Bayless made a racial claim about NFL teams after Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders had an impressive preseason debut on Friday night.
Bayless was quick to scold teams who passed on the former Colorado Buffaloes standout during the draft, allowing him to fall to the fifth round to the Browns. Cleveland made the pick even after trading down in the first round to select defensive tackle Mason Graham and already selecting Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
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Aug 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) gets away from Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy (96) during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. (Scott Kinser/The USAToday Network via Imagn Images)
“Tonight, Shedeur Sanders made the entire National Football League look like a whole bunch of petty fools and, in some cases, racist fools. In many cases, Deion (Sanders)-despising fools,” Bayless said in a video. “Tonight at Carolina, Shedeur Sanders made all those teams that had 143 chances to draft him before he went 144, he shamed all of them, including the Cleveland Browns, who finally took him in the fifth round.”
Bayless didn’t elaborate on how Sanders’ performance made the league look like “racist fools.” But he was adamant that he was behind the quarterback all along.
Aug 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; A Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) fan with her sign during the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)
BROWNS COACH ADDS TO QUARTERBACK INTRIGUE FOLLOWING SHEDEUR SANDERS’ GREAT PRESEASON DEBUT
Sanders’ free fall to the fifth round of the draft back in the spring, which sparked a massive debate during and after the event.
“It was the biggest disgrace in the history of the National Football League that somehow the sheep-think NFL wanted to teach Shedeur, and in turn Deion, a lesson for how he interviewed, how he carried himself, how he was the highest-paid NIL college player ever,” Bayless continued.
Sanders making the roster still isn’t set in stone as there are four quarterbacks vying for a roster spot with Deshaun Watson on the injured reserve.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) at the line of scrimmage in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 8, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
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But his performance against the Carolina Panthers got him off to a good start. He had two touchdown passes and 138 passing yards in the win.
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