Shannon Sharpe offers apology to Commanders’ Daron Payne
Daron Payne of the Washington Commanders was ejected from Sunday’s loss against the Detroit Lions for punching Amon-Ra St. Brown. But the incident may not be what it first seemed, and caused Shannon Sharpe to issue a direct apology to the Commanders star.
Payne was roundly criticized for throwing a haymaker at the Lions star wide receiver seemingly from out of nowhere during Sunday’s game.
As a leader of Washington’s defense, Daron Payne should know better than to throw a punch on the field. He should be suspended. There is no place for this in sports.
pic.twitter.com/A5YMmmyrZ0— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 9, 2025
It was one of two disputes in the game that also saw Javon Kinlaw get in the face of Jared Goff. The Lions quarterback then used that to prod Louis Riddick, asking for a
However, earlier this week Daron Payne posted a video to his Instagram account that showed St. Brown throwing a punch at him, which in theory led to the retaliation.
#Commanders DT Daron Payne’s latest IG story shows that WR Amon-Ra St Brown punched him first 👀 pic.twitter.com/PgmEK3EHEn
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) November 11, 2025
The revelation of that video led to an apology from Shannon Sharpe on his
“Let me be the loudest and say, bro, I’m sorry.”
Unc issues an apology to Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw after footage reveals Amon-Ra threw the first punch@ShannonSharpe
#Nightcap pic.twitter.com/0XYL7eEQD6— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) November 13, 2025
“He sent me the video. Let me be the loudest and say bro I’m sorry,” Sharpe said. “Javon Kinlaw, I owe you an apology too because you said he did hit Daron Payne first and we didn’t, I didn’t believe you. So I want to apologize to you. But the biggest apology goes to Daron Payne.”
“I’m sorry bro. I am so sorry as a man. I’m never going to be too prideful, I’m never going to be too wealthy, I’m never going to be anything where I can’t say I’m sorry I was wrong. Daron Payne, I was wrong. I wish you would’ve knocked his — out.”
For his part, Amon-Ra St. Brown addressed the punches on his podcast, saying that it started with being bumped by Payne, which led to him pushing back… where he says he accidentally punched him in the face. St. Brown expressed surprise over not being flagged for his actions, but then said that was when Payne struck back.
As the old adage goes, it’s usually the second player involved in one of these fights that gets caught. Sure, maybe Payne could have not reacted in such an obvious and forceful way that got himself ejected from the game. But at least Daron Payne had some Zapruder like film to let the world know that he didn’t just slug Amon-Ra St. Brown for no good reason.
Cameron Heyward Addresses Steelers’ Defensive Trust Issues Head-On
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have played well overall defensively in Week 10, but that didn't stop them from getting embarrassed on national television, and it definitely didn't silence the doubters. There are still plenty of things that the coaches can work on to make sure the defense is stable for the home stretch of the season, especially against the tough competition up ahead of them.
Defensive captain Cameron Heyward was very critical of the defense after that contest as well, saying that nobody on the team can really trust each other on the field, which was a shocking piece of reality that the team usually would not allow to be aired out publicly. If that does not get fixed soon, the season is already over, and big changes need to be made as soon as possible.
After Thursday's practice, Heyward was asked about that comment. He clarified what he said, but he didn't take anything back. He just explained why no one can trust one another.
"I think there's just hesitation there a couple times," Heyward said. "It's not necessarily trust. It's just trusting that everybody's going to be in their gap and doing that play in and play out. Sometimes, you feel like there's just a step where we're thinking too much. You got to get that out of your system. You got to know, 'This guy is going to be in this gap, so I can be in this gap,' and because of that, we'll have a stronger defense. I think it's minimal and it's precise, but when you do that, you become a better defense."
It just goes back to a common theme that has been repeated since early in the 2024 season: proper communication and not trying to do too much. Sometimes, it's on the coaches for scheming and calling plays that are way more complicated than they need to be, and sometimes, it's on the players for just trying to play hero and go away from their assignments.
Those problems take a highly talented defense that can make all kinds of plays and turns them into one of the worst units in the NFL. Those trust issues all around lead to things like Payton Wilson playing in the wrong gap or Juan Thornhill guarding nobody while the man behind him is wide open. Thornhill even got released for his role in the communication/hero ball problems.
There is no secret about it. The players have to give the coaches reason to trust them and do what they are asked to do. Heyward looks bad when Wilson abandons his gap and the running back runs right by him, and vice versa. Everyone is to blame for this.
Steelers' Schedule Leaves No Room For Error
Every single team on the Steelers' remaining schedule has the kind of offensive firepower that can put up 30+ points on this defense if it doesn't get its act together. That includes four divisional games, with two of them on the road. Even teams like the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns have shown the ability to score a lot against a unit that does not take them seriously.
The Steelers love their splash plays, but they can't win if that is the only goal of the team. If they get too aggressive and/or too soft in attempts to have the ball thrown right at them, most quarterbacks in the league will take full advantage of that and make it a very long day for Pittsburgh. Splash plays are nice, but it can't be the culture. Clean team defense and pure domination should be.
