Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was forced to clarify some comments he made during an in-game interview that some took as a shot at Shedeur Sanders.
Gabriel was interviewed on the sideline during the Browns’ 22-13 preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. During the interview, he was asked about tuning out external noise, and many on social media shared his response without context.
“There’s entertainers and there’s competitors, and I totally understand that. My job is to compete,” Gabriel said.
"There's entertainers and there's competitors… and my job is to compete." – @_dillongabriel_
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025
Watch on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/pe4p8bmZhc
Without context, some accused Gabriel of taking a shot at Sanders by referring to him as an “entertainer.” The rookie had to clarify after the game that was not the case, and that the “entertainers” he was referring to are media members.
“I am all about our team and each other,” Gabriel said. “I would never make that 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.”
#Browns Dillon Gabriel clarifies he meant the media are the entertainers and he’s a competitor and that he wasn’t taking a shot at Shedeur Sanders: “I’m all about the team” pic.twitter.com/I4EVCVmmxR
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 16, 2025
Aditi Kinkhabwala, who conducted the interview, also stuck up for Gabriel after the game by adding some context to his quote.
Let’s PLEASE not take this out of context. I was so impressed with how sagely – and sincerely – Dillon Gabriel talked previously about tuning out distractions. He told us there are entertainers (hot take artists) and there are competitors (he and his fellow QBs) and he doesn’t… https://t.co/SuNFUFT1Zu
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) August 16, 2025
Without context, the quote could easily read as Gabriel dismissing Sanders as an entertainer, not a competitor. The full context makes it fairly clear that was not the case, and it does not make sense that Gabriel would be so negative about one of his teammates in public.
Gabriel and Sanders are both jockeying for position on the Cleveland depth chart. Saturday was a big opportunity for Gabriel, as Sanders was sidelined by an injury. He went 13/18 for 143 with no touchdowns and an interception that was returned for a Philadelphia touchdown. He wasn’t quite as good as Sanders was in his debut, but there is still a lot of preseason left.
