Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel clarified Saturday that a comment he made during an in-game interview wasn’t meant as a dig at teammate Shedeur Sanders.
After he completed his preseason debut against the Philadelphia Eagles, Gabriel was asked during the CBS Sports broadcast about “tuning out the noise” surrounding the Browns’ quarterback competition.
“Yeah, it’s just part of it. You know, there’s entertainers and there’s competitors, and I totally understand that. But my job is to compete. And that’s what I’m focused on doing,” Gabriel said.
His “entertainers” comment was taken by many on social media as a reference to Sanders, who despite being selected in the fifth round — two rounds after Gabriel — has received the brighter spotlight of the two rookies. Sanders’ draft slide after being widely expected to be selected in the first round and his famous father, Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, have made him one of this season’s highest-profile NFL rookies.
After the game, during which Gabriel completed 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards and two turnovers (a pick-six and a lost fumble), he issued a clarification of those comments.
Gabriel explained in his postgame news conference that he refers to the media as “entertainers” and his in-game quote was something he had said before.
“Yeah, first off, I’m all about our team and each other. I would never make that [comment about Sanders] and I’ve said it before that’s why it’s interesting, but for me I’ve explained it entertainers are you all, competitor, that’s what I am, and all my teammates and we both have jobs to do, so that’s it.”
Sanders, who didn’t play in Saturday’s game due to an oblique injury, shined in his preseason debut the week before, completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers.
The two rookies and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are competing for the team’s quarterback job, although Flacco has consistently received the first-team reps in practice.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on Sunday said that a decision on the team’s starting quarterback would be coming “sooner than later.” Cleveland is treating its preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams at home on Saturday as a dress rehearsal, and the team is expected to play most of its starters.
“I need to get the football team in here, talk to the players, those types of things,” Stefanski said. “We’re working towards, obviously, Week 1, that’s part of what this week is about, getting our football team ready. So, we’ll make all those type of determinations in the next couple of days.”
Stefanski said he is “hopeful” that Sanders and Pickett, the latter of whom hasn’t participated in 11-on-11 drills since injuring his hamstring on July 26, will be able to increase their participation in practice in the upcoming week but would take it “day by day.”
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi contributed to this report.
