Malik Nabers declined to address his weekend run-in with projected No. 1 NFL Draft pick Shedeur Sanders after Sunday’s 35-14 Giants beatdown by the Baltimore Ravens.
“I want to talk about the game,” the Giants’ rookie receiver said. “I want to keep my focus on the game.”
But keeping focus off of the outside drama is going to get increasingly difficult. Because now ‘Prime Time’ is involved.
Now Deion Sanders, the Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach and father of Shedeur, has entered the chat. And there are no boring days when Deion gets involved.
He is a huge personality, a successful coach whose dual-threat talent Travis Hunter just won the Heisman Trophy, and a direct and outspoken larger-than-life sports figure.
New York’s fan base got a small taste of it on Friday when Sanders and Nabers had a catch in the street in Manhattan — with a Giants-logo football, at that.
During that social media stir, an unreliable ‘X’ account named “NFL Rookie Watch” spread a rumor that Shedeur Sanders would refuse to play if he was drafted by either the Giants or Browns because he preferred the Raiders or Cowboys.
The account went on to say that “NFL scouts reportedly believe the Giants will end up ‘settling’ for [Miami QB] Cam Ward, knowing Sanders wouldn’t play for them.’”
That didn’t sit well with Deion Sanders, who fired back himself on his “COACH PRIME” account.
“A Lie don’t care who tells it,” he said. “Please stop trying to become relevant by misrepresenting my son. God bless you.”
The speculation about Sanders’ preference, though, is being fueled in part by a video that surfaced recently of Deion Sanders to speaking to Raiders coach Antonio Pierce at an event in front of a crowd.
“I need you to draft those Sanders boys next year,” Sanders said on the microphone.
Deion Sanders clarified that the video was taken at last year’s Super Bowl, so that was not a recent remark made by the Colorado head coach with the current draft order in mind.
“To whom is may concern the video that’s being played of me & Coach Pierce is from the Super-Bowl Last year,” Sanders posted on Dec. 9. “God bless and have a phenomenal day. We are. #Dad/CoachPrime.”
Sanders still said it, though, just like he responded to a hypothetical question about Shedeur going to the Raiders in July by saying: “That would be nice.”
The drama, the clarifications, the rumors, the intrigue is going to follow the Giants into this offseason and grow louder by the day with someone as prominent, outspoken and influential as Deion Sanders involved in the public conversation.
Especially because the Giants (2-12) are so clearly tracking toward the No. 1 overall pick, with a 40.1% chance of landing it as of Monday morning, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index projections.
They were one of only four teams with a chance to secure it. The others are the New England Patriots (25.1% chance), the Carolina Panthers (13.8%) and the Raiders (8.1%) — although Vegas still had to play the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, which would alter the odds.
Shedeur Sanders the quarterback, of course, is an exciting prospect. And the Giants desperately need a QB.
Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who was with Nabers and Sanders last Friday night, even said Sunday that “personally I think [Sanders] could come here and really transform things.”
“I think he’s gonna be a very, very valuable piece wherever he goes, kinda like a Jayden Daniels effect,” Simmons said. “You see what Jayden’s done [in Washington]. I could see something like that happening with Shedeur, as well, wherever he ends up — if he ends up here or wherever.”
Then, to add more intrigue to the conversation, there is Deion Sanders’ presence as a possible head coaching candidate on the NFL circuit.
Could he join Sanders with the Raiders if they made a change with Pierce? Could he become the Giants’ next head coach and replace Brian Daboll with his son as New York’s quarterback of the future?
It’s impossible to discount any of that in the modern sports, entertainment and football landscape, not to mention Sanders’ college success.
There was also that well-circulated video of GM Joe Schoen and Giants brass at Colorado scouting late in November to stir the pot on a discussion of what’s to come.
The point is this is only the beginning. Wherever this is headed, it’s going to be well-documented, it’s going to be wild and controversial and heated at times. And it’s going to ratchet up the Giants’ drama and speculation to a whole new level over the next few months.
Because when ‘Prime Time’ gets involved, there are no boring days.
MAKING THE WRONG KIND OF HISTORY
Sunday’s loss meant the Giants have lost eight home games in a season for the first time in their franchise’s history. If they lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 28 or Dec. 29 in their final home game, they will join the 1974 team as the only winless Giants teams at home in their 100 years of existence.
That 1974 was only 0-7 in a 14-game season, though.
Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, meanwhile, set some astounding records with Sunday’s domination of the Giants. He threw five touchdown passes to only four incompletions.
He became the first QB in NFL history to hit all of the following minimums in a game: 80% completion, 250 passing yards, five passing TDs, zero interceptions and 50 rushing yards.
And he became the first QB to throw five TD passes against the Giants since Cam Newton on Dec. 20, 2015. Jackson did it by completing 21-of-25 throws and racking up a passer rating of 154.6.
STEEP DOGS (AGAIN)
The Giants opened as 10.5-point underdogs next Sunday at the Atlanta Falcons, who entered Monday night’s game against the Raiders averaging only 14.25 points per game themselves during a four-game losing streak. This comes on the heels of the Giants failing to cover a 16.5-point spread at home against the Ravens, the largest of this NFL season.
