When the Houston Texans scooped up free agent safety Tyrann Mathieu on a one-year deal last week, a lot of people loved the signing. And why shouldn't they? Houston adds a premier player to their already impressive defense at a surprisingly low price tag.
But maybe nobody loved the signing more than NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders, who declared that the 25-year-old Mathieu was the very best safety in the league right now.
That Primetime proclamation didn't sit well with Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard, who tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions and was named a first-team All Pro last season. Byard, 24, filed his complaint with the "send tweet" button.
Sanders caught wind of Byard's gripe and decided to clap back, but it appears he might not have known exactly know who he was responding to. The Hall of Fame cornerback responded to Byard and attempted to belittle his opinion by calling him a fan, suggesting that his knowledge of football is based on what writers say. Sanders also fluffed his own ego by saying he's more qualified to weigh in on the matter because he knows current and former players.
Except he apparently doesn't know Byard, who is one of the most promising young defensive backs in the game.
For what it's worth, Byard handled Sanders' ignorance in just about the best way possible -- with class and humility, but also with an appetite for motivation.
Several other talented NFL defensive backs -- including Casey Hayward, Eric Weddle and Jalen Ramsey -- jumped into the exchange to share their support and praise for Byard's skill set.
Luckily for Byard, he's been overlooked before and things still seemed to work out pretty well. After four seasons at Middle Tennessee State University, where he became the school's all-time interceptions leader, Byard wasn't invited to the NFL Combine. He wound up being picked by the Titans in the third round of the 2016 Draft.