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Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders dismissed teammate Dillon Gabriel’s recent ‘entertainers vs. competitors’ comment, suggesting it was not directed at him.
Gabriel created a bit of a kerfuffle when, following his poor pre-season debut performance, he suggested he’s just trying to focus on doing his job.
“There’s entertainers and there’s competitors and I understand that but my job is to compete,” Gabriel said.
The comment was widely perceived as a shot at Sanders, whose reputation for being more concerned about being flashy led him to plummet to the fifth round in the NFL draft.
Cleveland chose Gabriel in the third round.
Browns rookie QB Dillon Gabriel on his NFL preseason debut: “There’s entertainers and there’s competitors and I understand that but my job is to compete.”https://t.co/vVHffXoaB5
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 16, 2025
Shedeur was asked about the comments, insisting they were not directed at him and that “nobody’s words affect me.”
“Words or anything, it can’t do anything to me,” Sanders said when asked to comment. “I know that God put the ability and the power in me to not even care about people’s comments. It is what it is.”
He also noted that Gabriel has insisted the comment about “entertainers” was directed at the media.
“I spoke with him,” Sanders said. “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.”
Shedeur Sanders on Dillon Gabriel’s “There’s entertainers and there’s competitors” postgame comment ⬇️
(via @Browns) pic.twitter.com/RznKL319GM
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) August 21, 2025
Shedeur mostly laughed off the entire ordeal, even swatting away a reporter who asked if he believed what Gabriel had said was not directed at him.
“Did I believe him?” Sanders wondered aloud. “I mean, I feel like you’re trying to start stuff now. I feel like you’re trying to start stuff. I mean, [the reporter’s] doing his job he’s supposed to. 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, he did it.’ That’s not going to change my life in any way.”
RELATED: Dillon Gabriel’s Poor Preseason Performance Boosts Shedeur Sanders’ Chances
Gabriel has said the “entertainers” line is one he’s used before, and it was definitely directed at the media, not his teammate in Shedeur Sanders.
“I’m all about my team and each other,” Gabriel told reporters after Saturday’s game. “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.”
“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 ...
