Dillon Gabriel clarified what initially seemed like a controversial comment on Saturday after his preseason outing for the Cleveland Browns. It wasn’t directed at fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, as many immediately speculated.
After sitting out the Browns’ preseason opener with a hamstring injury, Gabriel got the start versus the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and played respectably. He completed 13 of 18 passes, but one of them was returned for a pick-6 by Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba.
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However, Gabriel made a remark during a televised interview that quickly raised eyebrows. Speaking on the sideline after Tyler Huntley took over at QB, he said something that, without context, could have been interpreted as a swipe at Sanders, with whom he’s competing for a spot on the Browns’ depth chart and perhaps a spot on the roster.
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Asked by reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala to share his thoughts on “tuning out the noise” and not letting it interfere with his preparation, Gabriel seemingly addressed something unrelated to the question.
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“There’s entertainers and there’s competitors, and I totally understand that,” Gabriel said. “But my job is to compete. And that’s what I’m focused on.”
The exact exchange went like this:
Kinkhabwala: “You gave us some fabulous wisdom on how you tune out the noise and don’t let it infiltrate yourself; will you share that with everybody at home?”
Gabriel: “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.”
After the game, when asked to clarify the comment, Gabriel insisted he was not referring to Sanders but was instead talking about the media as “entertainers.”
Other NFL reporters supported that notion, faulting the league’s social media channels for posting the clip without the question that preceded it. Kinkhabwala also responded on social media, explaining the full context of the original conversation that she wanted to bring up on TV.
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Gabriel played his final college football season at Oregon and there’s some history with that program and the Colorado team Sanders quarterbacked. Head coach Dan Lanning infamously made a pregame locker room speech prior to facing the Buffaloes in 2023. Lanning told his players, “They’re fighting for clicks, we’re fighting for wins.”
However, Bo Nix was Oregon’s quarterback that season. Gabriel was still at Oklahoma. And the Ducks did not play the Buffaloes during his lone season with the Ducks after transferring.
As a third-round draft pick, Gabriel’s place on the roster would usually be more assured than Sanders, who was selected in the fifth round. Yet Sanders has received decidedly more attention from media and fans because of his drop down the NFL Draft board and his self-promoting persona at Colorado that continued leading up to the draft.
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In his preseason debut, Sanders threw for 138 yards and completed 14 of 23 passes with two touchdowns.
Gabriel’s remark may have stirred some controversy initially, but he insisted it wasn’t malicious.
“I’m all about my team and each other,” Gabriel said. “But for me, I’ve explained it. Entertainers are you all. A competitor, that’s what I am, along with all my teammates. We both have jobs to do.”
Though Gabriel was actually taking a shot at the media, not Sanders, the comment will still likely be picked apart and become a topic during the upcoming week of practice. Perhaps proving his point about “entertainers.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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