Shedeur Sanders recently said during an interview on Apple Music that he is making a concerted effort to avoid negativity on social media platforms.
However, Sanders’ Cleveland Browns teammate, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, is choosing to combat that negativity head on.
Jeudy recently took issue with the ESPN Cleveland X account reposting a screen recording from Jeudy’s Tik Tok live that insinuated the wide receiver wants Deshaun Watson to be the Browns starting quarterback during the upcoming NFL season instead of Sanders.
In the screen recording that was reposted, Jeudy holds up four fingers — Watson wears No. 4 on his Browns jersey — while commenters are seen asking in the live video who he wants to be the team’s starter.
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However, Jeudy said the clip was taken out of context.
“Yall cut the clip perfectly for that narrative,” Jeudy wrote on X. “Y’all can never get in between this shxt lol.”
“Lmao yall just be lying so much for what ??” Jeudy added.
It is unclear exactly why Jeudy held up four fingers in the video, which can be seen below, but that is also the number he wore in college at Alabama. Jeudy also still has the number in the display name on his personal X account, so he potentially could have just been referring to himself, not Watson, by displaying the four fingers to his fans.
The Browns are entering their first year under the leadership of new head coach Todd Monken, who has yet to announce who will start between the veteran Watson and second-year Sanders.
Jeudy, though, says he plans to stay out of the debate.
“I don’t speak on decisions that aren’t mine to make,” Jeudy wrote on X. “I support my teammates/Brothers, I do my job, and control what I can control.
“Let’s stop creating narrative that aren’t there for likes and clicks. I bet this won’t go viral because it’s too positive/real for y’all (100 emoji).”
The current Browns quarterback room may be the most difficult one to manage in the NFL.
In addition to dealing with the star power of Sanders, who is eager to prove himself as a long-term option after finishing last season as the Cleveland starter, Monken also must contend with what could be Watson’s last attempt to rehabilitate his career and image.
Watson, who is entering the final year of a $230 million contract he signed after being traded from the Houston Texans, has not played since 2024 when he tore his Achilles; he later re-injured his Achilles which cost him all of last season.
In addition to the lack of availability, Watson’s stint with the Browns also featured controversy due to more than 20 women accusing the quarterback of sexual harassment during his time as a member of Texans.
The majority of the lawsuits filed against Watson were eventually settled in the summer of 2022, but that forced the quarterback to serve a suspension from NFL before he even got on field for Browns.
Monken must now decide whether to give Watson another chance to turn back the clock or chart a new path with Sanders as the future face of the franchise.
“I think both quarterbacks have played well enough where we haven’t really been in pads, we haven’t played any games yet, haven’t really gotten to that point yet,” Monken said in June, per BrownsWire.
“Every day I kind of lean one way or the other…But I’m fired up on the quarterbacks. I just tell you, we got two starting-level quarterbacks, we really do.”
The Browns open training camp on July 31.
