Shedeur Sanders vs. Dillon Gabriel is trash-talking QB battle we need in the NFL

No offense to Week 1 starter Joe Flacco, the real entertainment is Shedeur Sanders vs. Dillon Gabriel.

And we love it.

Everyone in professional sports is too nice these days. So thank you to Cleveland Browns forgotten rookie QB Dillon Gabriel, chosen in the third round, for adding a little spice to the mix during the NFL preseason, and hyped rookie QB Shedeur Sanders, the most ever talked about fifth round pick in the history of the league, for finally clapping back when pressed on the former Oregon Ducks and Oklahoma Sooners star's comments on being a "competitor vs. entertainer."

Aug 16, 2025; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) looks on against the Philadelphia Eagles during the game at Lincoln Financial Field. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

In an exchange at Browns practice, Sanders, on track to play in the Browns' final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams, responded to Gabriel's dig. "Did I believe him?," Sanders pondered when apparently the two chatted about it on the plane ride home. "I mean I feel like you're trying to start something... I don't know, and that's not on me... That's not going to change my life in any way."

Here's the full exchange below.

Browns QB Shedeur Sanders said fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel approached him on the plane last week to tell him the entertainers-and-competitors quote was not about him. Sanders’ comments on the whole ordeal. pic.twitter.com/BjHIiUbBxU
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 21, 2025

Sanders, who of course amassed a NIL fortune and high profile under the tutelage of his hype-building expert father and Colorado Buffaloes head coach, Deion Sanders, should not like Gabriel. And Gabriel shouldn't like Sanders.

They're competing for the same job: the most coveted job in the NFL and possibly American professional sports.

Famously, Steve Young and Joe Montana hated each other as they vied for QB1 for the San Francisco 49ers. Brett Favre gave Aaron Rodgers the cold shoulder throughout his Green Bay Packers tenure as soon as he was drafted, always teasing retirement before Favre was finally forced out. Montana, who won four Super Bowls, was shipped off to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Both Gabriel and Sanders want what Flacco has, the starting quarterback position for the Browns. Flacco, 40, is a legendarily nice guy and great locker room presence. But don't kid yourself. The Super Bowl winning quarterback wants to keep his job and prove all the doubters wrong.

Heck, even the Browns' $230 million mistake Deshaun Watson still believes he can be a Pro-Bowl level starting quarterback in the NFL.

We didn't even mention Super Bowl winning backup Kenny Pickett, who was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles, and is a former first-round pick with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was originally supposed to compete with Flacco for the starting job before Sanders and Gabriel showed up.

So that's five quarterbacks desperate for one of the most coveted jobs in America.

News alert. There's a good chance they won't like each other.

Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders — Jun 10, 2025; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) talks to quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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