"He probably had headphones around his neck": Shannon Sharpe defends Shedeur Sanders against critics calling him "unprofessional"

Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has defended Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders over people calling him unprofessional.

Sanders fell to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft after he had expectations of being a first-round pick. A knock on him was his attitude, as reports came out, he was unprofessional and arrogant during interviews.

However, Sharpe thinks it was overblown, and it likely wasn't as bad as people thought.

"You know what I bet they did Ocho, he probably had the headphones around his neck, and they talking like he had them on," Sharpe said on Nightcap (1:35). "I bet you that's what they did. You said, ‘you know what guys, on our draft board, we didn't have him rated that high,’ we moved on, but to try to diminish the man, to try to come up with every excuse like he's unprofessional… "

Sharpe doesn't believe Sanders is as arrogant as people think. But he also believes the Browns quarterback has to prove the doubters wrong this season and prove he isn't a problem and be the best teammate possible.

Sanders is in a quarterback competition for the starting quarterback job with the Browns, despite falling to the fifth round.

Analyst points to Deion Sanders as reason for Shedeur Sanders' slide

Shedeur Sanders is the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

Although Sanders comes from a football family, Deion has been involved in his son's career throughout high school and college. He also claimed he wouldn't allow his son to be drafted to certain teams, and one analyst thinks having to deal with Deion made Shedeur fall in the draft.

“This, my friends, is why Shedeur Sanders fell in the draft. I thought it was probably 50 percent Deion, 50 percent Shedeur. I’m now thinking NFL teams, front offices were just like, ‘No thank you’ on Shedeur Sanders precisely because of this," Jason McIntyre said on The Herd. "Folks, it’s the beginning of June, and Deion is already complaining about his son and what went down at the draft."

It's an interesting thought from McIntrye, but Shedeur Sanders is looking to silence all the doubters with his play on the field.

Sanders will compete with Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and Dillon Gabriel for the Browns' starting QB job.