Browns' Shedeur Sanders on Dillon Gabriel's 'entertainers' and 'competitors' quote: 'I'm not tripping'
Shedeur Sanders was asked Tuesday about the "entertainers" and "competitors" quote fellow Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel dropped last Saturday during a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. A lighthearted Sanders explained that Gabriel's comment didn't faze him. Sanders also noted that Gabriel addressed him on the plane ride home to Cleveland after the exhibition, clarifying to Sanders personally that the "entertainers" he was referring to were media members, not Sanders. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] "Honestly, I don't even think about anything. Words or anything, you know at this point, can't do anything to me," Sanders said Tuesday. "I know that God put the ability and power within me to not even think about nobody else's comments and not care. It is what it is. I spoke with him. He told me on the plane. He came up to me and was like, 'Nah, bro, that wasn't at you. I see how they trying to spin it.' I'm not gonna lie, I'm not tripping, regardless of whatever it was. Nobody's words or anything affects me." A reporter followed up, "So did you believe him when he told you it wasn't [about] you?" "Did I believe him? I mean, I feel like you trying to start something now," Sanders said before laughing. Sanders added: "I mean, [the reporter's] doing his job. He's supposed to." But then the former Colorado star provided an answer to the question speculating if Gabriel did or did not mean to take a shot at Sanders. "Um, 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 it,'" Sanders said. "That's not going to change my life in any way." #BrownsShedeur Sanders talked to Dillon Gabriel about his "entertainers and competitors" quote:pic.twitter.com/U8kfFjyBFh — Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot)August 21, 2025 Gabriel's quote came from a live televised interview during the third quarter of the Browns' Week 2 preseason game. The third-round pick had just seen his first NFL action after sitting out the preseason opener with a hamstring injury. Gabriel got the start in Philadelphia and, aside from a pick 6, impressed, completing 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards. The previous week, Sanders, a fifth-round pick,shined in a start against the Carolina Panthers, going 14 of 23 for 138 yards with a pair of touchdown throws. ButSanders was sidelined with an oblique injuryfor the road exhibition versus the Eagles. He will, however,play in the team's preseason finale. The two rookies are competing in a quarterback room that will now feature 40-year-old Joe Flacco as its season-opening starter. While Tyler Huntley took over at quarterback during last week's exhibition, Gabriel was asked Aditi Kinkhabwala in a mid-game interview to share his thoughts on "tuning out the noise" and not letting it get in the way of his preparation. Theexact exchange went like this: Kinkhabwala: "You gave us some fabulous wisdom on how you tune out the noise and don't let it infiltrate yourself; will you share that with everybody at home?" Gabriel: "Yeah, it's just part of it. You know, there's entertainers and there's competitors, and I totally understand that. But my job is to compete. And that's what I'm focused on." The quote,without its context, quickly spread online, with many assuming that Gabriel was throwing shade at Sanders. Gabriel was asked about the quote itself after the game, and heinsisted he was not referring to Sanders. He emphasized that the "entertainers" he referenced are people in the media. "I'm all about my team and each other," Gabriel told reporters postgame last Saturday. "But for me, I've explained it. Entertainers are you all. A competitor, that's what I am, along with all my teammates. We both have jobs to do."
Browns' Shedeur Sanders on Dillon Gabriel's 'entertainers' and 'competitors' quote: 'I'm not tripping' S...
