Is Dillon Gabriel Throwing Shade At Shedeur Sanders In Viral ESPN, NFL Clip?

Is Dillon Gabriel Throwing Shade At Shedeur Sanders In Viral ESPN, NFL Clip? originally appeared on The Spun.

By far the most interesting quarterback battle of the NFL offseason has been rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders jockeying for position on the Cleveland Browns' depth chart. Both are impressive college stars who achieved a lot with Oregon and Colorado respectively, yet could find themselves either buried on the depth chart or axed by the end of the preseason.

But in the absence of any real animosity between the two rookie quarterbacks, it appears that ESPN and even the NFL's official social media accounts are trying to manufacture some.

What Dillon Gabriel was quoted saying

In a clip that has gone viral on both ESPN and even official NFL platforms, Gabriel was quoted making a statement that many quickly thought was a clear shot at his fellow rookie:

"It's just part of it. You know, there's entertainers and there's competitors, and I totally understand that. And my job is to compete and that's what I'm focused on doing. Of course, we're doing this (interview) mid-game but you know it's something that I'll get used to and I just want to be the best teammate that I can and create an environment where we can all go do our best work."

On its face, Gabriel's apparent distinction between "entertainers" and "competitors" appears to be knock on Sanders given the former Colorado star's penchant for celebrating big plays.

Fans on social media quickly condemned Gabriel for the apparent slight at Sanders, practically declaring war on the Browns QB.

What Gabriel was actually saying

Speaking to reporters after the Browns' preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Gabriel addressed the quote. He said that his comment was strictly referring to the media asking questions and pointed out he's even used that exact language to describe them before.

"First off, I'm all about our team," Gabriel said before explaining the out-of-context clip.

“First off, I’m all about our team,” - Dillon Gabriel said his “entertainers vs competitors” quote was about the media and is one he’s used before. pic.twitter.com/OBaG6EPzO3

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 16, 2025

Reaction

NFL fans and analysts such as Albert Breer lamented that the NFL would use their official account to grab the quote without trying to put any extra context around it, potentially inciting fans against Gabriel.

"It's kind of unfortunate that the NFL's official account is tweeting this out without the actual question—which was how Gabriel and the QBs are trying to make sure the outside noise doesn't infiltrate what's going on internally. It wasn't a shot at Shedeur," Breer wrote.

It's kind of unfortunate that the NFL's official account is tweeting this out without the actual question—which was how Gabriel and the QBs are trying to make sure the outside noise doesn't infiltrate what's going on internally.

It wasn't a shot at Shedeur. https://t.co/dSvMtLbIAD

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 16, 2025

"As usual, a 20 second clip on the internet being taken remarkably out of context. He talking about the media focusing on the QB battle of him and Shedeur. Not taking a shot at Shedeur himself," another user wrote.

"Nobody cares about the truth anymore. They just want clicks. It’s sad," wrote another.

"The NFL doesn’t give a damn. They just care about drawing the most attention— just like Jerry Jones, which I don’t mind at all!" a third remarked.

"They're shamelessly joining the media circus, and now Gabriel gets the brunt of unfounded hate. Schefter just posted the exact same thing. God forbid the league have integrity for itself and most importantly, it's players."

The answer

No, Gabriel was not throwing shade at Shedeur.

It really feels like drama is being manufactured here.

Neither Gabriel nor Sanders have said anything to suggest that there's beef between them. They're obviously competing for the starting job, but beyond being competitors neither one has been looking to deliberately shade the other.

Granted, the clip could have simply been done by someone with an agenda and sent it to the outlets and neither one checked for the full context. But even then, it becomes a case of their laziness trying to cause unneeded drama between teammates.

Either way, it's a pretty bad look for both entities.

Is Dillon Gabriel Throwing Shade At Shedeur Sanders In Viral ESPN, NFL Clip? first appeared on The Spun on Aug 16, 2025

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.