Whether he meant to or not, Shedeur Sanders gave the New Orleans Saints something to motivate them a bit extra this weekend.

On Sunday, Nov. 8, the Cleveland Browns and Saints will clash from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for a Week 9 matchup. Heading into the weekend, the Browns officially named second-year signal caller Sanders the starting quarterback, as Deshaun Watson works his way back from a concussion protocol issue.

While Sanders wasn't officially declared the starter until Friday, he was treated as such throughout the week.

When asked if he had been studying the Saints' defense and preparing for the game this weekend, the 24-year-old gave quite an odd answer.

"Yeah I seen a lot, when I smile just know that means something," he said with a chuckle. "I'm maturing, you know what I'm saying, I'm maturing, I could have gave that a decent answer but now I'm just gonna smile when it's some questions, you know."

At first, it seemed that he was just blowing off the media, which he did a few different times back on Wednesday, but now, it seems the Saints took his comments as potential disrespect.

ESPN senior NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday morning, just hours before the game, that the clip of Sanders discussing the defense made the rounds in the Saints' building. Fowler continued that Saints head coach Kellen Moore had even referenced it during a meeting.

The confirmation just makes edge rusher Carl Granderson's comments on Friday make even more sense. Granderson, who has 5.5 sacks, five tackles for a loss and seven quarterback hits this season, said that the Saints feel the Browns have been "chirping a little bit."

"They've been chirping a little bit," he said. "We see what the quarterback said. [...] It's going to be a good game for sure."

While Sanders' awkward exchange with the media may not have been directed at the Saints in the way they ended up taking it, teams will always try to gain an edge wherever they can. And with how vocal the Browns have been the last few weeks, most notably edge rusher Jared Verse, it is hard to defend them.

The Browns, sitting 5-3 on the season and still in the hunt for the No. 1 spot in the AFC North standings, will look to put last week's loss behind them and turn to Sanders to lead the team to a victory on the road.

It's going to certainly be a trial-and-error experience, especially out of the gates, but Browns head coach Todd Monken is excited to see what Sanders can do.

“Oh yeah, I’m fired up," he said. "I’m fired up to see him play. I mean, who wouldn’t be?... This is what he’s wanted, right? He wants to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Let’s go.

"Let’s let it rip. Let’s see what we got. We’re not holding anything back."