Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Steve Sanders checked in to today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast and we discussed tons including his time with the Browns, Brady Quinn, mental health and becoming a fixture on Bravo TV’s Married to Medicine: Atlanta reality television show with his wife, psychiatrist, Dr. Mirica (Mimi) Sanders.
A standout during his collegiate career at Bowling Green State University, Sanders had 156 receptions for 2,324 yards and 24 touchdowns. Sanders lived the dream after going undrafted; the pride and joy of Cleveland, Ohio’s East High School signed with the Cleveland Browns and suited up for two seasons.
Playing For The Hometown Cleveland Browns
“It was crazy, man,” Steve Sanders tells Scoop B Radio.
“Growing up in Cleveland and then going to play for the Browns, that atmosphere was CRAZY! Being in the Dog Pound, the Muni Lot and all the different dynamics you see. It’s almost like a college atmosphere when you go to a Cleveland Browns game.”
Sanders played for a Browns team that had many transitions particularly at the quarterback position. The Browns went from veteran QB Trent Dilfer to Ken Dorsey before settling in on who they thought would be a gamechanger via the 2007 NFL Draft in Brady Quinn.
Coming into the draft Quinn was considered to be one of the top players in the country and was labeled as a franchise quarterback. A mix of injuries, underwhelming performances and coaching changes ended Quinn’s career quickly.
Brady Quinn, Josh Allen Comparison vs. Kellen Winslow’s Cleveland Impact
After the Browns released Quinn in 2009, he bounced around the league looking for another chance. Sanders tells Scoop B Radio that he believes that Quinn may have benefitted from playing in a different era of football. “I think Brady was one of those guys that got a raw deal and he DEFINITELY would’ve been beneficial playing in a completely different era,” he said.
“Solid dude. Good dude but I wish he would’ve got the chance to really showcase his skill set that he had.
“He was ahead of his time. Brady was very good. He was a gym rat so he wanted to work out and wanted to lift weights and at that time, you didn’t have a lot of quarterbacks that were doing a lot of that. He was also a guy that cared about his brand and that was also kind of cliche or I think not to do right because it was always portrayed as that you care more about your brand than you do about the team. Put the team first. And now, for you to care about your brand is important. If you don’t, a lot of people are kind of looking at you crazy, right? So I think Brady was one of those guys that got a raw deal and he DEFINITELY would’ve been beneficial playing in a completely different era. Solid dude. Good dude but I wish he would’ve got the chance to really showcase his skill set that he had.”
Sanders shares that Josh Allen reminds him of Brady Quinn. “He’s a big dude, he’s not afraid to put his body on the line,” he said.
“He’s gonna go out there, he has a big arm and he wants to show it off and he’s gonna get the guys riled up and he’s gonna play, wears his emotions on his sleeve and he’s out there really trying to make things happen even if it means putting his body on the line. So I would say comparable to Josh Allen is definitely somebody I would compare him to.”
Sanders was also Browns teammates with Kellen Winslow Jr. who during his best days was an unusual pass-catching threat who caused regular headaches for defensive coordinators. “Kellen Winslow is right up there from a talent perspective when it comes to some of the elite people that I’ve seen and been around in the NFL,” he said.
“When Kellen was on the field, everybody knew it because he wasn’t going to let anybody slack off. So he wanted to win every single thing, he wanted to win every single time, he competed against not only the tight ends but the wide receivers too; and so he just had this certain unique mentality when it came to football. He’s one of the most skilled guys I’ve ever seen play the game — I was on the team with Larry Fitzgerald, also very skilled work ethic crazy; I was with Calvin Johnson in Detroit, work ethic crazy and skills off the charts.”
Life After Football & Bravo TV’s Married to Medicine: Atlanta with wife, Dr. Mimi Sanders
Sanders has seen a lot and after stints with both the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals, Sanders retired from the NFL in 2012. He pursued a career in youth development and community outreach. An accomplished author, Sanders’ “Training Camp For Life: Developing Champions In Sports and In Life” has sold over 20,000 copies and has been distributed worldwide in both English and Spanish. Sanders has also used his book and copyright, character development and leadership training curriculum to partner with the NFL as an Ambassador of the NFL College Outreach Program. “I decided to walk away from the game,” he tells Scoop B Radio.
“I just really felt that God was calling me to do something greater than anything that I can do with a ball in my hands so I made a decision. It wasn’t an easy one and I even teeter-tottered like, Do I want to try to go back? I had opportunities and my agent was calling me, teams were calling me but I just knew that there was something greater.”
Now living in the Atlanta, Georgia area, Sanders is also the Regional Director of Nike Sports Camps. In between his work with Nike, he’s balancing life in the reality television space on Season 11 of Bravo’s Married to Medicine alongside his wife and psychiatrist, Dr. Mimi Sanders.
Dr. Sanders and her family are the show’s newest additions alongside the returning cast that includes Dr. Jacqueline Walters, Dr. Simone Whitmore, Dr. Heavenly Kimes, Toya Bush Harris, Quad Webb, Phaedra Parks, Esq., Dr. Contessa Metcalfe and Lateasha “Sweet Tea” Lunceford.
“She’s just a great woman,” says Steve Sanders about his wife.
“A great person and really cares about people.
“I had to marry a psychiatrist, I didn’t go see one.”
Cleveland Sports
In addition to his regular appearances on the hit Bravo television show, Sanders stays connected to the NFL through his weekly television show segment “Straight From The Pros” on Cleveland’s local NBC affiliate WKYC. While appearing on this week’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Sanders discussed his love for Cleveland sports and shared his Mount Rushmore of athletes who contributed to the Cleveland area and it includes Jim Brown, LeBron James, Josh Cribbs and Eric Metcalf. However, Sanders says that he still has love for former Cavalier, Mark Price. “Mark Price was a BEAST,” he said.
“Not only could Mark Price distribute the rock, run the offense and just be a floor general out there but, he could shoot. He was a knock down three-point shooter. Before Steve Kerr, there was Mark Price.
“I used him on NBA Jam, NBA Live… before there was NBA2K, you had Jordan vs Bird. You had so many different games on Nintendo, Sega whatever it was so, yeah definitely Mark Price was a knockdown shooter. He’d catch on fire on NBA Jam for sure.”
Can’t go wrong with Mark Price and can’t go wrong with Steve Sanders either. Make sure to check out Bravo’s Married to Medicine: Atlanta.
