Mary Kay Cabot posted a video breaking down the Browns’ quarterback competition. Deshaun Watson, she reported, had emerged from voluntary minicamp with an edge over Shedeur Sanders. Faster decisions. Better pre-snap reads. Superior passing efficiency. Specific, sourced, professional analysis from a reporter who has covered the Browns for more than three decades. Within hours, an Instagram comment appeared beneath her post from Shedeur’s brother Shilo. Five words that torched whatever remained of his NFL career before the sentence even finished loading.
What Actually Happened: A Timeline
Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Rodrick Ward (29) and Shilo Sanders (21) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Cabot posted her quarterback evaluation video in late April 2026, reporting that Watson had taken an edge at voluntary minicamp. Shortly after, Shilo Sanders left an Instagram comment under her post telling her to go make a sandwich. Within a day he went on a Twitch livestream and doubled down, accusing Cabot of holding an agenda against his brother. Cabot answered publicly on a Cleveland radio appearance, declining to escalate and instead pointing to the example she hopes to set for women in sports journalism. The Browns remained on course to settle their quarterback picture inside their June minicamp window.
The Comment That Can’t Be Unsaid
Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Jackson Hawes (85) runs past Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Shilo Sanders (28) in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
“Go make a sandwich, Mary.” That was Shilo Sanders’ response to an award-winning journalist’s detailed quarterback evaluation. Not a rebuttal of Watson’s decision-making numbers. Not a counter-argument about Shedeur’s rookie-year performance. A gendered dismissal aimed at a woman who just won the PFWA’s Bill Nunn Jr. Memorial Award, among the highest honors in professional football writing. Cabot earned that recognition covering the Browns for more than 30 years. Shilo earned roughly a few thousand dollars total in his NFL career after fines.
Who Is Mary Kay Cabot?
Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Shilo Sanders (28) stops Buffalo Bills wide receiver KJ Hamler (19) at the one yard line during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Cabot is a Cleveland Browns beat writer for the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, and she has covered the NFL since 1988. Her reporting is built on sourcing inside the Browns organization, long-running relationships with coaches and players, and steady weekly analysis that readers have relied on through multiple franchise eras. She became only the second woman to win the PFWA’s Bill Nunn Jr. Memorial Award while primarily covering a single club. Her body of work is the reason national outlets treat her reporting as a signal rather than noise.
The Bill Nunn Jr. Award, Explained
Aug 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Shilo Sanders (28) watches a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
The Bill Nunn Jr. Memorial Award is presented each year by the Professional Football Writers of America to a beat writer for long and distinguished reporting on the NFL. The honor is named for the late Pittsburgh Steelers scout and Pittsburgh Courier journalist Bill Nunn Jr., and it is presented during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement week in Canton. Cabot was the 57th recipient, and only the second woman primarily associated with the Plain Dealer to receive it. Inside the football writing community the award functions as a career-capping recognition rather than a one-season prize.
A Pattern, Not a Slip
Nov 29, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) and safety Shilo Sanders (21) pose for a photo before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Maybe you could excuse one bad Instagram comment as a hot-headed mistake. Shilo made sure nobody could. He jumped on a Twitch livestream and doubled down, accusing Cabot of holding an “agenda” against Shedeur. Not factually wrong. Not biased in her sourcing. An agenda. The man who threw a punch during a preseason game against the Bills, got ejected, fined $4,669, and was cut by the Buccaneers before making the active roster decided the real problem was a woman doing journalism.
The Credibility Gap Nobody Can Bridge
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos safety Shilo Sanders (21) breaks up a pass intended for Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Cabot cited Watson’s quicker decision-making, better pre-snap process, and passing efficiency. Three specific, observable criteria from minicamp. Shilo cited her gender. That gap tells the entire story. He couldn’t argue the analysis because the analysis was right. Watson is a multi-time Pro Bowler. Shedeur is a rookie coming off his first NFL season. Cabot reported what she saw. Shilo couldn’t counter the facts, so he attacked the person delivering them. One Instagram comment confirmed her professionalism more than any award ever could.
The Hidden Machinery of Dismissal
Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders (21) tackles Arizona State Sun Devils tight end Messiah Swinson (80) at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
This is how it works when a family member can’t win on substance. The reporting gets reframed as opinion. The opinion gets reframed as agenda. And when the reporter is a woman, the agenda gets reframed as incompetence rooted in gender. Shilo skipped straight to the last step. He never engaged Cabot’s Watson analysis because engaging it would mean admitting it had merit. The sandwich line was a substitute for facts he didn’t have, deployed by someone with an undeniable bias of blood loyalty.
The Preseason Punch That Started the Freefall
Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders speak to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
Shilo’s NFL body of work comes down to one preseason ejection. In the Buccaneers’ preseason finale against the Bills in August 2025, he threw a punch at Bills tight end Zach Davidson and was ejected from the game. The league fined him $4,669 for the incident. Tampa Bay waived him before the regular season began, and he never appeared in a regular-season game. The fine alone consumed the overwhelming majority of the bonus money he had earned as an undrafted free agent.
A Few Thousand Dollars and a Punch Fine
Jan 30, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; West running back Phil Mafah of Clemson (35) and West defensive back Shilo Sanders of Colorado (21) celebrate a defensive stop against the East during the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Shilo went undrafted in 2025. Tampa Bay signed him as an undrafted free agent. He collected modest signing and workout bonuses as a UDFA. Then he punched an opponent during a preseason game and got fined $4,669. That fine consumed the bulk of what he ever earned in professional football. The Buccaneers cut him before the season started. He never played a regular-season snap.
Collateral Damage in Cleveland
Aug 9, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Shilo Sanders (28) looks on during a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Shedeur Sanders produced real flashes during his rookie season, including multi-touchdown starts that generated legitimate buzz about his future in Cleveland. Head coach Todd Monken’s staff has indicated a desire to settle the QB1 picture by the end of minicamp in June. Now the conversation around Shedeur has shifted from arm talent to family drama, courtesy of his brother’s Instagram finger.
The Award and the Insult
Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils wide receiver Melquan Stovall (7) against Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders (21) at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Cabot became the second woman to win the Bill Nunn Jr. Memorial Award while primarily covering the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com. The honor is presented annually by the PFWA at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement in Canton. She won it for the exact work Shilo attacked, which is covering the Browns with professional rigor. That timing is the part that sticks. The institution honored her. A family member tried to erase her. Both happened within roughly the same window. Once you see that pattern, every agenda accusation from every player’s relative starts looking like the same reflex.
The Response That Won
Dec 28, 2024; San Antonio, TX, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders (21) looks up during the fourth quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Cabot responded publicly by highlighting her decades of work and the example she hopes to set for women and girls pursuing sports journalism. No name-calling. No escalation. More than three decades of showing up, and the response to a sexist attack was more proof of why she belonged. Shilo, meanwhile, has no team, no contract, and a Twitch stream where he argued back at his critics.
What to Watch Between Now and June 9
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos safety Shilo Sanders (21) against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Browns are scheduled to close their mandatory minicamp in early to mid June, the window Cleveland has pointed to as a realistic timeline for clarifying the QB1 picture between Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Watson’s minicamp edge, as reported by Cabot, sets the baseline against which Shedeur’s next practice reps will be measured. Every snap Shedeur takes will now be read through the lens of the distraction his brother created online. The cleanest outcome for Cleveland is a quiet, on-field decision that lets the football speak louder than the Instagram comment section.
What Shilo Actually Proved
Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
Every marginal player watching this now knows that attacking a female reporter on social media does not intimidate anyone. It ends careers. Shilo’s sandwich comment will outlast anything he ever did on a football field, which, for the record, amounts to zero regular-season snaps and one preseason ejection. Cabot still covers the Browns. The QB1 decision still approaches. And any NFL team considering Shilo as a free agent now has to Google his name and explain the first result. That comment is his entire football legacy.
Do you think any NFL team will still give Shilo a camp invite this summer, or is the sandwich comment the last word on his career? Tell us where you land in the comments.
Sources:
Cabot, Mary Kay. “Browns voluntary minicamp observations: Deshaun Watson shows edge over Shedeur Sanders.” Cleveland.com, April 2026.
Professional Football Writers of America. “Mary Kay Cabot selected as PFWA 2025 Bill Nunn Jr. Award winner.” PFWA, May 29, 2025.
Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Writer Mary Kay Cabot selected as winner of 2025 Bill Nunn Memorial Award.” profootballhof.com, 2025.
NFL Communications / Yahoo Sports. “Shilo Sanders fined $4,669 by NFL for throwing punch, getting ejected in final preseason game.” Yahoo Sports, August 30, 2025.
ESPN. “Bucs’ Shilo Sanders ejected after punching Bills’ Zach Davidson.” ESPN, August 23, 2025.
People. “Shilo Sanders Under Fire for Sexist ‘Go Make a Sandwich’ Comment to Female Reporter.” People, April 30, 2026
