Dillon Gabriel‘s “there’s entertainers, and there’s competitors” line after the Cleveland Browns‘ Week 2 preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles was initially received as him taking a shot at fellow Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. However, Gabriel & Co. have insisted it wasn’t a shot at Sanders, rather it was the quarterback being confident in his own ability.

How did Sanders take it?

“Words or anything, it can’t do anything to me,” Sanders said when asked about Gabriel’s “entertainers” line. “I know that God put the ability and the power in me to not even care about peoples’ comments. It is what it is. I spoke with him. He [Gabriel] told me on the plane ‘that wasn’t at you. I see how they’re trying to spin it.’ I’m not tripping, regardless of whatever it was. Nobody’s words or anything affects me.”

Sanders started Cleveland’s Week 1 road preseason win over the Carolina Panthers, tossing two touchdowns and posting a 106.8 passer rating. He missed the Browns’ Week 2 preseason game with an oblique injury, with Gabriel – who missed Week 1 due to a hamstring injury – throwing for 143 yards and completing 72.2% of his passes. Granted, Gabriel also threw a pick-six. Nevertheless, the Browns named veteran Joe Flacco their Week 1 starting quarterback earlier this week, with the two rookies, Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley competing for the spots on the depth chart behind Flacco.

Cleveland selected Gabriel, a 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist, with the No. 94 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and traded up to select Sanders, the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, at pick No. 144. It previously acquired Pickett from the Eagles in March, while signing Huntley earlier this month.

The Browns close out their preseason at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday and open their regular season at home against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7 (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

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