The quarterback competition at the Cleveland Browns is one of the talking points this offseason, especially since they drafted Deion Sanders’ son Shedeur Sanders, as the 144th overall pick, along with ex-Oregon star Dillon Gabriel as the 94th pick.
Even though Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski recently announced that their veteran player Joe Flacco will kick off the 2025 NFL season in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the debate around whether Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel should see the field for the remainder of the season is still ongoing.
While some fans firmly believe Shedeur has shown a lot of growth since he got drafted during the rookie mini camp and the training camp, along with his thrilling performance during preseason game 1 against the Carolina Panthers, others believe Gabriel is better than him.
Fueling the debate during his preseason debut in game 2, Gabriel made a comment on “entertainers and competitors” ahead of the matchup which many fans and analysts thought was a jab at Shedeur Sanders.
When asked about the comment during a press conference on Aug. 21, Shedeur said:
“Words or anything, it can’t do anything to me. I know that God put the ability and the power in me to not even care about peoples’ comments. It is what it is. I spoke with him. He [Gabriel] told me on the plane ‘that wasn’t at you. I see how they’re trying to spin it.’ I’m not tripping, regardless of whatever it was. Nobody’s words or anything affects me.”
When a reporter asked him if he believed Gabriel’s comments wasn’t about him, he said:
“I don’t know, and that’s not on me to sit here and be like oh he did, he didn’t, that’s not gonna change my life.”
Shedeur Sanders on Dillon Gabriel’s “There’s entertainers and there’s competitors” postgame comment ⬇️
(via @Browns) pic.twitter.com/RznKL319GM
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) August 21, 2025
Stephen A. Smith Slams Dillon Gabriel Over Entertainers Comment
In the post-game press conference when asked about the comment, Dillon Gabriel said the quote that he used wasn’t new and that he has used it before.
He further clarified it wasn’t about his teammate Shedeur Sanders and said that it was for the media.
Talking about this on Aug. 19, Stephen A. Smith called Gabriel’s statement “dumb” even though he believes it wasn’t about the ex Colorado quarterback.
“I never believed he was talking about Shedeur Sanders. I totally believed him when he said he was talking about the media. I wanna get that out the way first,” Smith said. “I think when you heard the comparisons, I think the comparisons were emanating from the media more than anybody else.… Having said that, Dillon Gabriel, respectfully, it was stupid. A very dumb comment to make.”
The Browns are set to play their final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field on Saturday.
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