NFL Has Simple Way To Solve Shedeur Sanders Prank-Call Problem

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have stayed out of the news for the most part this offseason.

The same cannot be said for their arch rivals, the Atlanta Falcons.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday morning that the Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich have been fined for their role in the prank calls that were made to Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Ulbrich’s son Jax was seen making the calls and resulted in the Falcons being fined $250,000 and Jeff himself fined $100,000 for the leak of Sanders’ phone number.

The NFL described the controversy as both Atlanta and Ulbrich as “failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.”

Jax had reportedly received Sanders’ number through a paper that the league sent out to each team and coaching staff so they could communicate with the incoming rookie class.

Ulbrich’s son used it to take advantage of the situation and was caught on tape.

While no punishment has been levied toward’s Jax, this is one of the few cases the league has levied fines for a team and coach that were not the direct culprits of the controversy itself.

The situation has also opened up a new can of worms. … but we think it’s close-able.

This isn’t just about the Falcons. Players from both the most recent draft, and in year’s past have come out with their own stories and clips of being targeted with prank calls during the draft.

And this isn’t just about the Buccaneers, who were not involved.

But it’s a bad look for one of their biggest rivals at this time. And not something that can easily be forgiven. … but it can be fixed.

Our Mike Fisher suggests that the NFL Draft’s congratulatory phone calls morph into being Zoom calls, Facetime calls. The player will see the team rep, the team rep will see the player.

Obviously, there are other times when teams contact players; video doesn’t solve every issue. But when this happens on the clock, with emotions running high and stakes running even higher?

Face to face, NFL. Video face to face.

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NFL Has Simple Way To Solve Shedeur Sanders Prank-Call Problem

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