Shedeur Sanders makes classy comments about Dillon Gabriel after NFL debut

While Shedeur Sanders' NFL debut wasn't ideal, the fifth-round pick remained humble and respectful in his postgame press conference.

The former Colorado Buffalo was thrust into the game to play his first NFL snap coming out of the halftime break on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. At the time, the Browns were leading, 16-10, but the home team's edge didn't last very long.

Sanders struggled, completing just four total passes in the second half for 47 yards while throwing one interception and taking two sacks. With such struggles, the Browns ended up falling, 23-16.

The reason for his debut though came on unfortunate terms.

Rookie signal caller Dillon Gabriel entered concussion protocol following a first-half run. He was ruled out for the rest of the game.

“I’m extremely thankful," Sanders said on the opportunity to play. "Let me say this: When Dillon’s out there playing, I appreciate the fans (cheering for me), but I’m a good person, so I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable and confident. It puts everything in a tough spot. It’s not helping the team.”

Throughout the entire first half, when Gabriel had issues, the Cleveland faithful rained boos down at Gabriel. At times, chants of "We Want Sanders" and even "We Want Watson" could be heard bouncing around the stadium.

Very classy from Shedeur Sanders:

“I’m extremely thankful. Let me say this: When Dillon’s out there playing, I appreciate the fans (cheering for me), but I’m a good person, so I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable and confident. It puts everything in a tough spot. It’s… pic.twitter.com/DDLPwUXCYa
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 17, 2025

For a player like Sanders, who didn't have the best outing, to come out and support his teammate like that says a lot about his character.

He didn't hang his head, he didn't blame his team for the loss, but instead opted to give his time to supporting the player ahead of him in the depth chart and urged fans to support the young quarterback instead of hurling a barrage of comments his way while on the field.

2023 Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett said that Sanders took the blame for the loss following the game. However, Garrett wouldn't let him do that.

“He spoke after the game and he wanted to pin it on himself and his performance,” Garrett said. “But we’re not going to allow him to do that. It’s a team game. We’re all in this together.”

It seems that Sanders has a good head on his shoulders and a high ceiling, but for now, head coach Kevin Stefanski reminded the media that Dillon Gabriel was going to be the team's starting quarterback moving forward.

Before exiting the game, the third-round selection, Gabriel, tossed for 68 yards on 7-of-10 passing and was sacked once.

His season marks now come in at 937 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Those aren't bad numbers, but his film shows a different story.

Consistently, Gabriel hasn't been able to roll outside the pocket, throw accurate passes and get the ball down the field. The Browns have pretty much given the first-year the keys to the offense, but whether its due to coaching issues or Gabriel not being ready to lead the charge yet, the team's gotten just one win with him starting.

Cleveland's coaching staff will prepare for the former Oregon Duck to lead the Browns against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Nov. 23, with kickoff slated for 4:05 p.m.

That is, as long as he clears concussion protocol.

For all anyone knows, Sanders could be right back out on that field in a week with his first chance to start an NFL outing.