The battle for the Cleveland Browns backup quarterback job has changed into a cleaning soap opera involving the workforce's two younger draft picks.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday, August 18, that the Browns will title veteran quarterback Joe Flacco because the beginning quarterback for the workforce's September 7 common season opener in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Within the operating to be Flacco's Week 1 backup quarterback are Kenny Pickett, who was traded to the Browns in March, and 2025 NFL Draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
After Gabriel, 24, accomplished his preseason debut on Saturday, August 16, in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles, he was requested in regards to the dialog surrounding the workforce's quarterbacks' room.
“There's entertainers and there's rivals,” Dillon stated throughout an in-game interview with CBS Sports activities. “I completely perceive that. My job is to compete and that's what I'm targeted on doing.”
Some advised Gabriel's feedback had been a thinly-veiled shot at Sanders, 23, the son of NFL Corridor of Famer Deion Sanders whose well-known final title and flashy persona have triggered some critics to query if he's extra model than substance.
After Saturday's sport, Gabriel tried to make clear his feedback, saying he refers to members of the media as “entertainers.”
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 16: Dillon Gabriel of the Cleveland Browns walks on the sphere earlier than the NFL Preseason 2025 sport between Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Monetary Area on August 16, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Elsa/Getty Photographs
“You have got a job to do and I respect it,” Dillon told the assembled reporters in a postgame press convention. “I'm a competitor. So I've a job to do, as properly. Simply understanding that's how I've lived by and I've stated that a number of occasions. Positively not a brand new quote.”
Gabriel added, “I'm all about our workforce and one another … Entertainers are you all. Competitor, that's what I'm, and all my teammates. We each have jobs to do, in order that's it.”
Regardless of Gabriel's try and make clear the quote, the injury had apparently already been finished.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 16: Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns is greeted by a member of the Philadelphia Eagles after the NFL Preseason 2025 sport between Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Monetary Area on August 16, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Elsa/Getty Photographs
Stephen A. Smith addressed the controversy on ESPN's First Take on Monday, August 18, telling viewers that he “believed” Gabriel's feedback had been actually in regards to the media whereas concurrently deriding his actions.
“Dillon Gabriel, respectfully, it was silly,” Smith, 57, stated. “A really dumb remark to make. To start with, let me inform you one thing proper now. In each stroll of life, far past the parameters of a soccer area, individuals are competing. We compete right here on tv. You compete on radio reveals. You compete on Wall Avenue. You compete on Madison Avenue. Every little thing, particularly in America because it applies to a capitalistic society, entails competitors.”
Smith added, “It was a silly, idiotic, immature remark, as a result of clearly you had been feeling the warmth as a result of lots of people had been speaking about how Shedeur must be QB quantity two.”
Gabriel went 13-for-18 with 143 yards and one interception within the workforce's preseason victory over the Eagles on Saturday
Sanders, who's at present coping with an indirect damage, went 14-for-23 with 138 yards and two touchdowns within the Browns' August 8 preseason victory over the Panthers.
The Browns end their preseason schedule in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, August 23.
