There’s no love lost between Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and NFL Network analyst Steve Smith.
Smith, a five-time Pro Bowl selection in his career, claimed he and Jeudy had a pregame conflict that stemmed from comments the retired wide receiver made about the Broncos player on a podcast.
“On my podcast, I talk about guys that maybe don’t show up in a certain way,” Smith said on NFL Network before the Broncos and Chiefs tipoff Thursday night. “The word I’ve used to describe him in the past is JAG – just a guy. When I see him, he’s playing well. I want to face him and say, ‘Hey, I know I’ve said some things in the past. I Probably shouldn’t have done it and I’m sorry. That’s what I wanted to say to him. His response was, “(Racism), I won’t mess with you.” ” And it was a curse word. So I thought, “Okay. ” Then he repeated it again.
Smith continued with some not-so-subtle jabs.
“I’m sorry I called you a JAG, just a guy. He was an average wide receiver who they used a first-round pick on and didn’t do anything with it,” Smith said. “I hope today you can really Showed up in a way that you haven’t shown up since the last few years. They drafted you. So if you have any questions about Agent 89, I’m sorry because I said you were an average wide receiver and they ended up will leave you.”
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Jeudy can be seen on camera walking behind Smith’s live throw, but the retired wide receiver took an aggressive approach.
“When I was playing, I would be involved and I loved it. But now, I’m 44 years old. I don’t need that to happen and I don’t need to have any problems off the court because I’m doing things that not only jeopardize I would also endanger him,” Smith continued. “One of the biggest issues we face in the media, especially as a young black man, is sometimes black-on-black crime. I will not be a part of that. I will not be a part of the national media where two African-American men can be seen Acting like we were irrational to the situation. He didn’t like what I said, and that was okay. I wanted to talk to him. He didn’t like that, so we moved on.”
In 16 NFL seasons, Smith was selected to the Pro Bowl five times and was named first-team All-Pro twice. He was the NFL’s receiving yardage leader and Comeback Player of the Year in 2005. The former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver has 1,031 receptions, 14,731 yards and 81 touchdowns in 219 career games.
The Broncos selected Jeudy with the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has 174 receptions, 2,503 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 45 career games. He never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team.
