Shedeur Sanders wants to ‘prove myself right’ as friendly QB battle with Dillon Gabriel begins

Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are in for what figures to be a long battle to be the Cleveland Browns‘ 2025 starting quarterback, a competition which also includes Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.

Sanders and Gabriel have both been present for the Browns’ rookie minicamp. While they continue to split reps, they appear to like what they have seen from each other thus far.

“He’s a really cool guy, overall. He’s always in a good mood, but overall, I can tell he’s a pretty good person,” Sanders said of Gabriel.

Gabriel, the No. 94 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, said he is not trying to get caught up in any distractions, and is welcoming the chance to compete with Sanders (pick No. 144) through the offseason program and training camp.

“I love it because of who it is. I think just for us both, you can learn from one another,” Gabriel said. “But also, it’s not just us two in the room. At least for right now it is. But going into the year, Kenny [Pickett], Joe [Flacco] and even Deshaun [Watson], just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another.”

Still, Sanders is focused on making his mark.

“My job here isn’t to prove people wrong,” Sanders said, according to the Browns’ team website. “It’s to prove myself right.”

While Sanders’ fall in the draft to the fifth round could be attributed to some of the comments from his father — Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — he knows that everything from here on out is up to him.

“I’m taking every snap out there; I’m getting up after these hits. I’m the one throwing touchdowns. I’m the one that got to live it day by day. So all he gave us was the opportunity, and we had to navigate and see what we liked,” Sanders said. “And especially coming to this building, we have great coaches in the building able to keep me focused, keep me in a straight and narrow line.”

When it comes to the negative comments, Sanders did add that he feels most of it comes from older fans instead of those his own age or younger, and that most of it is because of his famous father.

“Ninety-nine percent of hatred is towards pops, and then I’m just his son, so it really just comes from that. And I’ve told him that too,” he said. “It’s the older generation that do it to me rather than the younger people because when I come in person there’s no negativity I see. But it’s all over online.”

Sanders and Gabriel got plenty of snaps over the two days of practices. Besides trying to learn the playbook, there is refining technique and also trying to learn how to take snaps under center regularly.

Because the veterans have not had a chance to do any 11-on-11 drills yet during their offseason program, head coach Kevin Stefanski said some of the plays installed for the rookies were to get an on-field look and assess for the first time.

Why Shedeur Sanders has one of the ‘clearest’ paths to start for the Browns | The Facility

Even though Deshaun Watson is expected to miss the season as he recovers from tearing his Achilles twice, Stefanski said Watson is out of his walking boot, continues to rehab, and has been in the meeting room with Pickett and Flacco.

“There’s no easy way to just pour an install into a person and say, ‘Here’s our offense, here’s our playbook, figure it out.’ It just takes time,” Stefanski said. “This’s just not something that you can just pick up and snap your fingers. I wish it was so; there’s just a lot of meetings. You’re going to make mistakes — both physical and mental — and what we’re trying to do is coach off of those and learn from those.”

Sanders said the important thing he will focus on over the next couple of months is trying to improve daily.

“I just find something I want to perfect and just perfect it to the best of my abilities,” he said. “I’m just thankful for an opportunity. Things could have been a lot worse, but I’m here smiling in front of you all at this facility right now.”

Sanders, wearing his new No. 12 jersey, took the number because he said it was the best one available; he wore No. 2 at Colorado, which was later retired by the school. It also doesn’t hurt that it was the number Tom Brady wore en route to seven Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[MORE: Shedeur Sanders to wear No. 12 with Browns, at least for now]

Plus, he knows he has a long way to go before he even considers making an offer to receiver DeAndre Carter to wear No. 2.

“I’m not trying to buy anything. My signing bonus ain’t that high right now,” Sanders said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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