The Denver Broncos trailed the rival Kansas City Chiefs in the first quarter of the teams' Thursday Night Football (TNF) showdown at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos' Jerry Jeudy drew the ire of Steve Smith Sr., the legendary Carolina Panthers receiver, prior to the game with comments that had America reacting with surprise.
The ‘beef' is centered around reports that the Broncos may trade Jeudy at some point. Jeudy had 17 catches for 208 yards heading into the season but no touchdowns.
Smith Sr. went after Jeudy in pregame comments that led to what looked like a response from Jeudy during warm-ups. Smith's rant on Jeudy's lack of trade value had been viewed nearly four million times as of the first quarter's action in Kansas City.
Steve Smith Sr. just DESTROYED Jerry Jeudy on NFL Network.
Says if any NFL team calls him about trading for him, he'll tell them not to do it.
Steve went off.
(via @nflnetwork, @dillybar2145)pic.twitter.com/FeY4lDvCSo
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 12, 2023
A fired-up Jeudy began yelling at television cameras during his warm up in a suspected response to Smith's comments. Fans on X did their best to decipher what was said. Suffice to say, Jeudy was not happy and seemed intent on proving the former All-Pro receiver and Cam Newton target wrong.
Jerry Jeudy … might have heard what Steve Smith said about him on @NFLGameDay on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/wbOmOv19DM
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 12, 2023
Smith made light of the situation on his own Twitter page later on, sharing a hilarious screenshot that showed how non-plussed he was with the entire situation.
— Steve Smith Sr. (@SteveSmithSr89) October 12, 2023
Jeudy had two catches for just one yard at halftime as the Broncos did their best to feed him the ball early amid rising tensions with the NFL Network commentator Smith Sr. Kansas City led 13-0 at the half behind 121 yards receiving from star tight end Travis Kelce.
Fans on X continued to joke around amid a slow start for both teams in anticipation for the game's halftime break, perhaps wondering what would happen next and whether the talented former Alabama Crimson Tide receiver would make Smith Jr. eat his words for the Broncos against their division rivals.
— Tommy Gunns (@tomcorcoran4) October 13, 2023