QB Dillon Gabriel (8.13.25)
Was it a little sloppy offensively for the Browns today, did you think?
“Yeah, I think always there’s things you’ll take away from practice that you want to clean up and get better from, but that’s with everything. Any practice game, walkthroughs, there’s good, there’s bad, and there’s things that you want to improve on.”
So, Dillon, there’s been, obviously, a new development today with the team telling us that Shedeur (Sanders) suffered an oblique injury early on in throwing drills. And I’m not sure what you know or what you don’t know, but it looks now like you’re probably going to get the start on Saturday. And so, can you just talk about the opportunity that presents for you?
“I have no clue what’s going to happen. I’m just right where my feet are. But time will tell, and we’ll see what happens, but that’s up to the coaches, and, you know, we got a lot of time up to that point.”
And if you do get the start, what. What are you looking to show you’ve been out for a little bit. Your own hamstring. How frustrating has that been? And what are you looking to show if you get out there?
“Yeah, no frustration, just things that you got to get better from, you know, and things that you gotta attack. You know, there’s times where you’re trying to get better and things don’t go your way in that way. But it’s just daily work to try and get back. And I try to just stay in the moment. I’ll look forward to that moment once it comes and be right where my feet are. But, you know, I just I’ve known the best competitors have been present and be themselves by competing at a high level, just one play at a time so we’ll see.”
Is the hamstring 100% now?
“We’ll know here soon.”
Have you ever dealt with a hamstring injury or another soft tissue injury, like when you were in college or anything?
“Yeah, occasionally. I think when you’re competing for a long time, there’s times within, you know, the college periods, whether it’s training or whatever it may be, where you have some time away and then you get right back. So, it’s just working through that process.”
Just based on how you felt out there today, do you feel like if Kevin (Stefanski) says, “Hey, we want to throw you out there to start this game,” do you feel physically like you’ll be up for that?
“I don’t know if I can answer that question, but I will say, I do feel better from day one and it’s just been a good progression. So, you just want to keep stacking it that way and keep feeling better. So, want to continue that trend.”
What was the frustration like, you know, while you’re kind of having to wait, you know, kind of…
“There was no frustration but keep going.”
No, I mean as you talk a lot about mental reps, you know, stealing reps and everything like that, when you’re injured, you know, you at least would be out there and kind of watch the play, you know, in real time. How much did that help you kind of stay and not fall too far behind?
“Yeah, I think for many people in any situation, you either look at things as a threat or an opportunity, and an emotionally healthy mind always sees his opportunity. And for me, I just continue to try and be in that mental mindset and headspace, and every day is an opportunity. When you wake up, you can get better or just coast. And for me, I’m always trying to get better mental reps, whatever it may be, even in the training room, right, or in the weight room, there’s things that you can get better at. So that’s what I’m focused on. And because I have that good headspace, I’m just always focused on that every single day.”
How much do you feel for Shedeur (Sanders) that he comes here for these important practices?
“Yeah, the worst part about football is injuries.”
So, you feel at this stage of preseason, this is a critical week for you, where you are in the pecking order?
“Every day is critical though, you know, so you could have probably asked me that next week and the following. Every single day is critical, and you have to approach it every single day like that because that’s all you got right. And you’re only as good as your last outing. So yes, every day, everything’s critical, everything’s important and it’s got to be that way when you’re playing against high level team every single week.”
Do you guys feel like you are going to have a resolve like when you get together as an offense tonight, a resolve to come back and play like cleaner ball tomorrow and hang on to it better and all of that?
“Yeah, that’s always our approach. You don’t go into a practice thinking, ‘Hey, let’s just give…,’ you know what I mean? There’s a way in which you want to practice, but you know, you gotta go do it. You know, that’s the end. It’s got to translate from the class to the field, and you gotta, you know, approach a certain way because, you know, there’s small details that could be the difference, and you don’t know what will add up to be, you know, the difference in winning or losing.”
Talked to Gage (Larvadain) on Monday. Obviously, I think you Shedeur (Sanders), everybody’s kind of developed a pretty good chemistry, and he’s had a really solid camp. Just what’s it been like to watch him sort of as an undrafted rookie, sort of develop and grow, put some good things on team.
“Extremely competitive. I think he approaches every single day a certain way, and you can feel that as a quarterback, and you appreciate it. And you also want to get the ball to him because you know he’s going to make a play if there’s a certain alert or a time where you can, you know, maximize his ability. And I think he’s just been just very consistent, and that’s what you need in a guy like him. And he’s done that every single day.”
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