Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Makes Dillon Gabriel Demand After Debut Loss
Shedeur Sanders was not pleased with the treatment Dillon Gabriel received from Cleveland Browns fans on Sunday and called for a change.
Gabriel started Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. He was booed multiple times after incompletions, and the home crowd at Huntington Bank Field even chanted Sanders’ name.
The crowd got what they wished for in the second half. Gabriel was held out with a concussion and Sanders stepped in for his first NFL action. When Sanders took the field for the first time, the stadium erupted.
After the game, Sanders said he is embracing the fans’ enthusiasm but also wants them to lay off Gabriel when he’s in the game.
“Well first let me say this. Dillon’s out there playing and all that, I appreciate the fans. I appreciate everybody, but I’m a good person overall, so I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable, confident when he gets out there,” Sanders said, referencing the boos. “So it puts everything in a tough spot and it’s not helping the team. So that could be taken as, ‘OK, I’m being a distraction even though I ain’t doing nothing,’ You know? I’m not doing nothing.
“But I’m thankful for the supporters, thankful for the fans, thankful for everybody out there that believes. And yeah, when I got out there, I definitely felt them, and I’m truly thankful for it. I’m thankful, seeing all them ’12′ jerseys out there, and it was a great feeling for that.”
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Upset With Performance
Sanders did not fare well in his debut. He completed just four passes for 47 yards and an interception. He took accountability for his poor play in his postgame press conference.
“Losing isn’t something I’m comfortable with at all. I got to take this one. I got to decompress. I got to understand this really happened on my watch. I don’t like the feeling,” Sanders said. “And I know offensively, if I’m able to get out there and have an opportunity, I know that I’ll be able to take everything to a different level. Like I said, I still have the same confidence. I’m still me. I’ll never go anywhere. … I’m excited for it. I just got to take this one and build on it.”
Sanders had a chance to tie the game and be the hero late. But his deep shot to Gage Larvadain was dropped in the end zone.
“I don’t think there’s a doubt in my mind that that final drive was going to go down there and score. Things happen and we didn’t,” Sanders said. “But I was just excited because I knew what I was going to be able to do out there.”
Dillon Gabriel Will Be Browns’ Starter if Healthy
Gabriel is in concussion protocol. But if he’s healthy, Gabriel will return to his starting role, per head coach Kevin Stefanski.
“Yes,” Stefanski said of Gabriel remaining the starter. “There’s obviously a lot that goes into that protocol. So, we’ll see.”
The Browns face the two-win Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. There’s a chance that Sanders will get a full week of prep and draw the first start of his NFL career. If things go that way, Stefanski is confident the fifth-round rookie will be ready.
“He will improve every day, like he has. He’ll improve every single day. He’ll put the work in like he’s doing,” Stefanski said. “There’s plays I know that he wants back, but he’ll keep working. We have a ton of faith in our players and that includes our starters, our backups, our young guys, our vets. We trust our guys.”
The Browns have opened as three-point underdogs for the Week 12 matchup against the Raiders.
Cowboys Eyed as a Top Team for Speedy Former $20 Million 42-Game Starter
The Dallas Cowboys revamped the team’s defense in several last-minute deals at the NFL trade deadline. Dallas could also look to veteran free agents to add even more depth to the unit. Dallas has just a 4% chance to make the NFL playoffs heading into the team’s Week 11 primetime matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, per The Athletic.
This did not stop owner Jerry Jones from making significant moves at the NFL deadline, including acquiring star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identified the top available free agents and each player’s best landing spot. The analyst is pushing the Cowboys as well as the Baltimore Ravens to make a run at former top-10 pick Isaiah Simmons.
“Isaiah Simmons was a first-round pick in the 2020 draft, but he has struggled to find a true position in the NFL,” Knox wrote in a November 7, 2025, story titled, “Best Team Fits for Top 10 Bargain Free Agents After Trade Deadline.” “A hybrid defender at Clemson, NFL teams have tried him at both linebacker and safety but have never seen truly impressive results at either position.
“The Green Bay Packers gave Simmons a shot this offseason, but he was released in late August and failed to sign with a practice squad. … Simmons would be a logical gamble for a team that regularly uses multiple safeties in a rotation or for one that could use an athletic run defender at the second level.”
Potential Cowboys Target Isaiah Simmons Is a Former Top-10 Pick in the 2020 NFL Draft
After a standout college football career at Clemson, Simmons was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Simmons inked a four-year, $20.6 million rookie contract with the Cardinals.
The defender also had a short stint with the New York Giants. Most recently, Simmons signed with the Green Bay Packers, but the linebacker was unable to make the final roster and was released ahead of Week 1.
Simmons’ NFL career did not quite live up to the hype as teams struggled to know exactly where to play the versatile defender. The former highly touted prospect spent time at both linebacker and safety. It just so happens Dallas could use help at both positions.
Isaiah Simmons Started 42 Games With the Cardinals & Giants
During his five NFL seasons, Simmons started 42 games for the Cardinals and Giants. Simmons’ best statistical season came in 2022 when the veteran posted 99 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions in 17 appearances for the Cardinals, including 13 starts.
The defender notched an impressive 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash ahead of the 2020 draft. Additionally, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound defender posted a 39″ vertical. Heading into the draft, analyst Matt Miller (now with ESPN) described Simmons as a “unicorn.”
“Simmons is a true unicorn as a prospect,” Miller wrote for Bleacher Report in April 2020. “Evaluators are stumped on who to compare him to or even what his ceiling will be.
“A smart defensive coordinator will simply look at the matchup each week and let Simmons erase the opposing offense’s biggest threat. He’s a rare game-changer at the linebacker position and should be allowed to play multiple roles and alignments within a single game. If Simmons doesn’t succeed in the NFL, it will be one of the biggest surprises of the 2020 draft class.”
