Shedeur Sanders jabs reporter for ‘trying to start stuff’ over Dillon Gabriel comments

Whatever you think of Shedeur Sanders, you have to hand it to the Cleveland Browns rookie for the way he’s tried to handle the intense media scrutiny he’s under.

The fifth-round draft pick has been under a microscope while competing for a spot on the Browns roster alongside Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Along the way, he hasn’t been shy about pushing back on narratives that certain media members have tried to peddle.

Last weekend, Sanders missed the Browns’ preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. That gave Gabriel a chance to show what he can do, and he put together an up-and-down performance that warranted another look.

After leaving the game following the first half, Gabriel was interviewed by Browns TV reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala, who asked the rookie how he tunes out the noise surrounding the QB battle, to which he responded, “There’s entertainers and there’s competitors… and my job is to compete.” While the context made it clear the quote was about the media, the official NFL social media accounts stripped that away, leaving only the quote, which heavily implied that he was referring to Sanders as an “entertainer.”

Despite Kinkhabwala and Gabriel clarifying afterward that the answer had nothing to do with Sanders, that narrative took hold.

Thursday, Sanders met with the Cleveland media and shared that he and Gabriel had discussed the comments and the way they were being spun.

“I spoke with him,” Sanders said after practice. “He said, ‘Nah, bro, that wasn’t.’ He said that. He told me on the plane. He came up, he was like, ‘Nah, bro, that wasn’t at you. I see how they trying to spin it.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not tripping, regardless of whatever it was.’ Nobody’s words or anything affects me.”

Sanders was then asked whether or not he believed Gabriel’s reasoning for the comments, at which point the rookie seemed to realize what was going on and took a playful jab at the reporter who asked.

“Did I believe him?” Sanders said. “I mean, I feel like you’re trying to start stuff now. I feel like you’re trying to start stuff. I mean, [the reporter’s] doing his job he’s supposed to. Do I feel like he did? I don’t know. And that’s not on me to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, he did, he did it.’ That’s not going to change my life in any way.”

The Browns released an updated depth chart earlier in the week, naming Flacco as their starter with Gabriel in the second spot and Sanders third. All three quarterbacks will play against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. For his part, Sanders says he’s going to let the competition speak for itself rather than worry about what anyone is saying.

“Honestly, I don’t even think about nothing,” Sanders said. “I don’t think about anything. If it is not words or anything, at this point, it can’t do anything to me. I know that God put the ability and power within me to not even think about nobody else’s comments, not care. It is what it is.”