The Cleveland Browns have been the talk of the NFL since their midweek decision to bench quarterback Joe Flacco in favor of third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel for their Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in London.
Flacco had struggled through Cleveland's first four games, logging 815 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions with a passer rating of 60.3. The Browns logged less than 250 yards of total offense in their last two contests, prompting head coach Kevin Stefanski to shake things up.
And while seemingly everyone had an opinion on Cleveland's polarizing quarterback move, the one that sports fans seemingly cared about more than any other was that of third-string QB Shedeur Sanders.
The fifth-round rookie was asked by reporters after Wednesday's practice what he thought about Stefanski's decision, and what ensued was one of the more bizarre NFL locker room moments in recent memory.
Sanders mimed his answers to reporters' questions, which his brother Deion Sanders Jr. confirmed was actually a dig at former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, who called him an embarrassment earlier in the week.
Sanders’ antics went viral, and suddenly fans weren't talking about Gabriel's first NFL start but rather the spotlight was on the team's QB3. Whether or not that was Sanders' intention isn't clear, but Gabriel sent a message on Friday that he was unbothered by what happened.
"None," Gabriel told Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot of what kind of impact Sanders' interview had on him. "I don't want to speak for anyone, but for me it's like, ‘Hey, we're a team, we do this together as a unit.' We can only control what we can control. I don't want to speak for anyone in particular.
"… I've been through a bunch of competitions at every stop. Going back to high school, even into my freshman year at UCF, going into Oklahoma, even at Oregon. I've had a bunch of guys I've played with that I'm still close to. QB rooms are important to be able to build relationships and feel really good about it, so that's how I kind of approach and navigate everything."
Gabriel has completed just 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards in a touchdown during the regular season, but he was quite impressive in his two preseason appearances, completing 67.5% of his passes for 272 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
However, he has his work cut out for him on Sunday as the Vikings have the No. 3-ranked pass defense in the NFL (151.5 yards per game allowed).
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