Monica McNutt confuses Druski’s Barry Sanders jersey for Shedeur Sanders

ESPN’s Monica McNutt had an unfortunate mix-up during Friday’s edition of First Take.

Filling in for usual host Molly Qerim, McNutt found herself on the embarrassing end of a viral clip that had many questioning her knowledge of America’s most popular sports league. Kicking off a segment alongside Stephen A. Smith and comedian Druski, who was on set wearing a Detroit Lions Barry Sanders jersey, McNutt revealed she believed the comedian’s jersey was actually related to Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders.

Monica McNutt confused Druski’s Barry Sanders jersey for a Shedeur Sanders jersey 😅

“The jersey, obviously this ties to one Shedeur Sanders.”

via @JordanDahms pic.twitter.com/KAMVmlcprs

— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) August 16, 2025

“Well, it’s a blast to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us,” McNutt began. “So, the jersey. Let’s get into it, because obviously this ties to one Shedeur Sanders who balled out in his first preseason game,” she continued before Druski interjected.

“No, no, no, no, no, this is Barry Sanders,” the comedian responded.

“I’m sorry, I apologize. Barry Sanders,” McNutt awkwardly said, correcting herself.

Now, to extend McNutt some grace, she is not an NFL specialist by any means. McNutt is very knowledgeable about the NBA and WNBA, holding top gigs as a studio analyst for New York Knicks games on MSG Network and as one of ESPN’s lead WNBA voices. But NFL takes? Well, it’s clear she has some catching up to do.

When you’re hosting a show like First Take, it’s necessary to be a generalist and not just a specialist. At the very least, the show might have been better served to fill Qerim’s seat with someone who has more of an NFL pedigree, considering the bulk of the show was likely to be filled with NFL topics during the height of the preseason. Lord only knows how many Shedeur Sanders segments First Take did in the week following his Browns debut.

Should it have been obvious what Druski was wearing, especially considering the jersey was blue and not, well, brown and orange like Shedeur Sanders would wear? Absolutely. But considering the whole network was Shedeur-brained for the entirety of last week, it’s not necessarily surprising that’s where McNutt took the conversation.

Unfortunately for her, the gaffe led to many millions of people seeing the mistake on social media. Hopefully, Monica McNutt isn’t planning to attend any Lions games this season.