CLEVELAND, Ohio — Shedeur Sanders used the final question of his first NFL post-game press conference to defend his fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who suffered a concussion at the end of the first half.
Sanders, who replaced Gabriel in the second half but failed to execute a last-minute comeback in a 23-16 loss to the Ravens, urged fans not to boo Gabriel or chant Sanders’ name when his teammate is trying to run the offense.
On Gabriel’s second drive, fans booed after he left a pass in the left flat to Dylan Sampson short. They booed a few other times, and some chanted “we want Sanders!” after Gabriel missed rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. on a short pass to the right on third and 5 late in the second quarter. The Browns settled for their third field goal for a 16-10 advantage.
Sanders made his NFL debut, but wasn’t able to close out the game, going 4-for-16 for 47 yards, with no touchdowns and 1 INT for a 13.5 rating. He wasn’t happy with his performance, and vowed to do better next time. With Gabriel in the concussion protocol, Sanders will likely start next Sunday vs. the Raiders in Las Vegas.
But Sanders, a team player who’s well-liked by his teammates, took a break from answering questions about himself to take up for Gabriel (7 of 10, 68 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 88.8 rating).
“Well first let me say this,” when asked about his own enthusiastic reception. “When Dillon’s out there playing and all that, I appreciate the fans. I appreciate everybody, but I’m a good person overall, so I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable, confident when he gets out there. So it puts everything in a tough spot and it’s not helping the team. So that could be taken as, ‘okay, I’m being a distraction even though I ain’t doing nothing,’ You know? I’m not doing nothing.
“But I’m thankful for the supporters, thankful for the fans, thankful for everybody out there that believes. And yeah, when I got out there I definitely felt them and I’m truly thankful for it. And yeah, I’m just thankful that I’m out here. I’m thankful for the opportunity. I’m thankful, seeing all them 12 jerseys out there and it was a great feeling for that. But the feeling of losing that ain’t nothing we going to get comfortable with on my watch for sure.”
Stefanski said Gabriel will start if he’s cleared from the concussion protocol, and Sanders for one, hopes he doesn’t have to endure booing and Sanders chants if he does.
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