After just four games, the Cleveland Browns have made a quarterback change, benching veteran Joe Flacco for third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel. The team’s most talked about quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, will remain as the Cleveland’s third-string QB, with Flacco handling backup duties. Of course, that was a talking point on Wednesday, and local reporters asked Sanders to weigh in on the discussion.
The rookie quarterback answered the questions, but not really. He moved his mouth and emoted, but no words came out. For anyone who cared enough to lip read, it was clear Sanders was giving actual answers, but he just opted not to turn his volume on. Surely enough, his lack of words will still make a ton of noise.
His reaction was to the Rex Ryan criticism not Dillon Gabriel becoming the starter https://t.co/lljcAH8kNk
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) October 1, 2025
Shedeur Sanders opts not to speak with media
Like anything the polarizing young player does, this quickly drew a ton of reactions. Some interpreted it as a response to former NFL coach Rex Ryan, who recently criticized Sanders and called him out for running his mouth. Others took this as the quarterback’s way of saying it doesn’t serve him to talk; anything he says will be picked apart, so it’s better to say nothing at all.
It’s also possible that Sanders was just in a silly goofy mood, and was just playing around to break up the monotony of the cycle he’s in. He has been at the bottom of the quarterback depth chart since arriving in Cleveland and has consistently answered the same questions every week. He was smiling a ton during his noiseless responses, so this could just been his idea of fun. His teammates frequently talk about how he’s funny and likes to joke around, so this might have just been the latest example of that, or it could’ve been a statement on the commentary surrounding him.
Only Sanders knows the answer to that question. What everyone knows, though, is that he’ll remain as the Browns No. 3 quarterback for the time being. Everyone anticipates that he will eventually get his chance under center this season, but only time will tell.