Browns QB Dillon Gabriel Gets Honest on Shedeur Sanders Relationship

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel opened up about his relationship with fellow first-year signal-caller Shedeur Sanders as the two compete in a four-man battle for the starting job.

Gabriel landed in a unique situation with the Browns, who selected him in the third round of the draft. He was already set to compete with veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco for the starting quarterback job. The dynamic shifted when Cleveland used the No. 144 pick on Sanders in one of the most talked-about selections of the draft.

Sanders’ unexpected draft slide only added to the spotlight on the Browns’ already crowded quarterback room. While Gabriel often gets overshadowed by Sanders’ presence, he’s embraced the opportunity to share the room with the former Colorado standout.

“It’s good,” Gabriel said of his relationship with Sanders. “I think there’s a bunch of ways to do it and we’ve just been doing it by being ourselves. So, it’s been a lot of fun that way. We have a fun room and there’s just a bunch of diversity in a lot of ways. And we just use that to our advantage, keep learning, keep growing.”

Dillon Gabriel Learning From Browns Veteran QBs

Gabriel has earned a reputation as a quick study in his first few months with the Browns, absorbing everything he can and closely observing the veteran quarterbacks around him, including Deshaun Watson.

“Just day-to-day and how they go about their process of whether studying, taking care of their body, or even just thinking about a certain play,” Gabriel said. “There’s a mix of all that. And as you can tell, there are three guys, Deshaun, Joe and Kenny, who’ve played a bunch of ball at different spots. So they’ve seen a bunch of different football. We can all learn from that.”

The Browns have said that all four quarterbacks are in the mix for the starting job. Gabriel and Sanders are long shots to start out of the gate as rookies, especially considering the Browns’ challenging early schedule.

Gabriel is only focused on what he can control and has a unique perspective on the quarterback battle.

“I view competition as beating myself yesterday and how can I be better than I was yesterday,” Gabriel said. “And I think when you have that focus, it’s going to make everyone better.”

Browns Open to Keeping 4 Quarterbacks

The Browns want to decide on their starting quarterback “sooner than later.” However it shakes out, it doesn’t mean the team will part with any of their four passers.

“We’ve largely looked at the last five spots of a roster as more developmental spots, and that could come from any position,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said at training camp. “I also think with the roster flexibility nowadays, especially with the elevations that you’re able to have on the practice squad, there’s just more flexibility in terms of how to build your 48-man game-day roster where it’s maybe not as quite as restrictive as in the past.

“If there are four that are 53-man worthy and we think it makes the most sense for us to keep, then we will.”

Gabriel is not thinking about what the future might hold.

“It just has nothing to do with what I can control, right? It’s up to them. They make the decisions, I just lace my cleats up, get on the grass and happy to do what I do. Appreciate it.”