Dillon Gabriel Says He Feels ‘Never Disrespected’ Despite Being Left Out of Browns’ Starting QB Race
Dillon Gabriel isn’t sweating being left out of the conversation. The Cleveland Browns quarterback said this week he holds no grudge over being excluded from the team’s starting quarterback competition, even as Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders soak up the spotlight in training camp.
“Never disrespected,” Gabriel told reporters on Wednesday, according to Pro Football Talk. “I don’t take things personally, it’s a business. I’m focused on what I need to do to get better, and that’s all I’m focused on. I’m present with that.”
Quietly climbing the depth chart
Gabriel is entering his second season after Cleveland took him in the third round of the 2025 draft. He made six starts across 10 appearances as a rookie, bouncing in and out of the lineup behind Joe Flacco and alongside fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders. Now the room has four names in it: Gabriel, Sanders, Watson, and sixth-round pick Taylen Green. Watson and Sanders have gotten the bulk of the attention as the top two candidates for the job.
But Gabriel isn’t invisible on the practice field. Browns head coach Todd Monken said Gabriel has begun earning more first-team reps because of how he’s performed early in camp, according to Steelers Depot. “Everybody’s competing, but you’re not guaranteed the same amount of reps,” Monken told reporters. “It’s up to the player to take advantage and maximize those reps, which I feel like Dillon has done.”
Gabriel credited a specific group behind that improvement. “I’m really just focused on mastering my reps,” he said. “I really appreciate [pass game coordinator] Danny Bryer and [senior director of player development] James Cook. James Cook and [offensive skill development specialist] Demetric Felton are big on walkthroughs in the morning, which helps set me up for a good day. And afterwards with Danny Bryer, a guy I’ve really leaned on, getting coached up — three or five reps, talking through it as best I can and improving. And same with [assistant quarterbacks] coach [Matt] Baker, he’s been really good for me.”
A new number, same mindset
Gabriel also shrugged off a smaller storyline this camp: giving up his No. 8 jersey to newly acquired pass rusher Jared Verse, a move that fed the narrative of him as an afterthought. He’s now wearing No. 6. “Yeah, I don’t really care about numbers,” Gabriel said, via Pro Football Talk. “My freshman year in high school, I remember I got pulled up to varsity wearing 96. No, no attachment to any numbers.” It’s a small detail, but it fits the pattern — Gabriel keeps steering every question back toward the work rather than the optics.
What’s next for Gabriel and the Browns
Cleveland is trying to climb out of a 5-12 season and end a 33-year division title drought, last winning one in 1989. The Browns also want to end a two-year playoff absence. Whoever wins the job will inherit a roster still finding its footing on offense, and Gabriel’s improved reps suggest the door isn’t fully shut on him — even if the depth chart doesn’t reflect it yet.
Cleveland opens the 2026 season on the road, visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. ET before traveling to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. ET. Whether Gabriel is standing on the sideline holding a clipboard or getting reps himself by then likely comes down to how camp plays out over the next few weeks.
