Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba did not exactly give his former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron a ringing endorsement.
Smith-Njigba recently made an appearance on the “CHGO Bears” podcast at Super Bowl week’s Radio Row located at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Seahawks wideout was asked to give Bears fans some insight on Waldron, who was hired as the Bears’ offensive coordinator last month. Waldron served as the Seahawks’ OC under Pete Carroll over the last three seasons.
Smith-Njigba spent a full seven seconds stammering before sheepishly asking, “Is this live?” He then appeared to brush off the awkward silence as a joke.
“I’m playing. I mean, good luck to [Bears fans]. He’s a great person,” said Smith-Ngijba.
this Jaxon Smith-Njigba quote on new Bears OC Shane Waldron cannot be real šššš pic.twitter.com/KjbQHIl3Vd
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 8, 2024
The Seahawks wideout following up by calling Waldron a “great offensive coordinator” and added that he “learned a lot” from the veteran coach. But that didn’t stop the clip from going viral on X as fans reacted to Smith-Njigba’s initial soundbite.
Itās like when your new girl asks ā¦
āHow was dinner? It was my first time cookingā
Uhhhā¦ errrā¦ goodā¦ ahhh
— Anthony Cervino (@therealNFLguru) February 8, 2024
The greatest endorsement a coach can get from a player āheās a great personā š¤£š¤£š¤£
— Matt (@WhoDey311) February 8, 2024
Smith-Njigba was the Seahawks’ first-round pick during the 2023 NFL Draft. He had a decent first season in Seattle with 63 catches for 628 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was third on the team in all three categories behind veteran receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.