Browns Digest

Did Dillon Gabriel take subtle jab at Shedeur Sanders after being named Browns starting quarterback?

Do the Cleveland Browns rookie quarterbacks have a beef with each other that is leaking into their comments to the media?
Robert Watson III|
Sep 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have made a much-needed change, naming third-round rookie draft pick Dillon Gabriel as their starting quarterback for their Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

However, people aren’t talking about what Gabriel is about to do on the field, but about a possible beef he may have with fellow rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

In an interview with Browns media on Wednesday, the former Oregon quarterback answered a question about being named the starter and if he was ready for the responsibility.

“If you wait for the perfect time, you’re going to wait a whole lifetime," Gabriel said.

This seemed innocent enough at first, just coming off as Dillon being ready to make his debut. Many media members and pundits had mentioned the Browns should wait for an easier or more favorable game to start Dillon, instead of throwing him into the fire when he may not be ready.

Others, though, looked at his word choice and saw it as a possible shot at Shedeur Sanders, who popularized the term “Perfect Timing” from his rap song, which has since become synonymous with the phrase. Those who took it as a shot from Gabriel believe he was saying that if Sanders is waiting on the perfect time, he’ll be waiting his whole life and never get that moment.

This isn’t the first time Gabriel has been accused of sending shots at Sanders.

After a preseason performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, in a sideline interview, Gabriel was asked about his performance and how he blocks out the noise.

"There’s entertainers, then there’s competitors," Gabriel said after that preseason outing.

That comment created a media firestorm, with many assuming Gabriel was talking about Sanders. He immediately cleared it up in the postgame presser.

"I would never make that comment about Sanders, and I’ve said it before — that’s why it’s interesting. For me, I’ve explained it: entertainers are you all, competitors, that’s what I am, and all my teammates. We both have jobs to do, so that’s it.”

Even Wednesday, after Gabriel was named the starter, Sanders chose to say nothing in his media availability. Reporters assumed this meant he was unhappy about Gabriel being named the starter, or that Shedeur was now taking a shot at Gabriel, or possibly responding to Rex Ryan’s comments.

Regardless, they’re both just rookies learning how the media can be, and getting real-life lessons week to week on how their words can be twisted.

As the season goes on, with it being clear that Cleveland will be evaluating and playing their rookie quarterbacks, Gabriel and Sanders names will be tied together for the foreseeable future. This will likely continue, where everything one or the other says is overanalyzed and read too deeply into.

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Robert Watson III
ROBERT WATSON III

Robert Watson III is a marketing professional from Cleveland. He played college basketball at Baldwin Wallace and Brandeis University.

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