Please stop sharing the clip of a Ravens player’s sarcastic 49ers quip

A viral clip of a Ravens player saying he doesn’t respect the 49ers is a good reminder about why you can’t really trust the internet.

When Ravens safety Marlon Humphrey was asked about the 49ers-Ravens Christmas Day game on his “Punch Line” podcast Wednesday, he began with a quick quip about the 49ers: “I don’t respect ’em.” When his co-host, Jack Settleman, asked him whom he doesn’t respect, Humphrey replied, “I don’t respect a single person on their football team.”

Settleman added, “Frauds.”

Several 49ers fan accounts or social media services took the single clip and sent it around the social media waves, stirring the pot based off of the 31-second snippet.

It’s led fans to reply asking, “Who hurt him?” and say Humphrey was “clearly trolling.” One even posted the clip saying, “Shots fired.”

But on the actual podcast, Humphrey laughs through what is clearly a sarcastic tone and then pivots to discussing the 49ers in an entirely respectful, even admiring, way, adding that he’s excited for the showdown between the top two teams in the league.

“Their defense is crazy. You know our offense is gonna … I’m not going to say they’re going to struggle, but you know they’re going to have to put some work in to score points,” Humphrey said. “Defense gotta to come ready. But … They’ve just got key playmakers. Christian McCaffrey scores every single freaking game. Deebo [Samuel], [Brandon] Aiyuk, [George] Kittle. I mean, they … Dang.”

Humphrey then called the 49ers “a really good team” and praised Samuel for being “elusive” and “a running back playing receiver,” making him hard to tackle. Humphrey added that this “might be the game of the year, honestly.”

Settleman mentioned how this game could impact the MVP race, nothing how 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is the current favorite but saying Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has a chance to win it if Baltimore beats San Francisco. Humphrey seemingly didn’t realize that Purdy was the favorite, repeating Settleman’s line and looking up at the ceiling.

“Dang,” Humphrey said. “That’s kind of impressive. Second-year guy.” 

Humphrey then made a “whoosh” sound, shook his head and said, “It’s going to be a daggumed ballgame. I know they run the ball well, they run the ball really well.”

He sure doesn’t sound like a guy who “don’t respect a single person on their football team.” The podcast’s social account pushed back at the 49ers posts, calling one photo of his quote “clickbait.”

But the podcast seemingly knew what it was doing with the sarcasm, too, seeking out engagement. The start of the episode on Youtube used the same quotes about respect to open its show, and even a post of its own effectively used the “doesn’t respect” part as its quote before a 41-second video that shows more context.