The Browns chose Dillon Gabriel to take over for Joe Flacco after Cleveland's hapless 34-10 loss to the Lions in Week 4 dropped the team to 1-3 on the season.
The fact that Shedeur Sanders was passed over and still remains No. 3 on the QB depth chart was, predictably, as big of a talking point as Gabriel's first NFL start. The rookie further drew attention to himself with a strange silent interview after Gabriel's promotion, which was apparently a response to Rex Ryan criticism but still sparked a larger discussion about how Sanders handles the media.
On Sunday, Gabriel made his first start and Sanders watched from the sideline. Before the start of the game against the Vikings in London, however, NFL insider Ian Rapoport shared that Sanders did have a conversation about the silent interview with Browns officials. Here's how he explained it.
"Sanders made news this past week when he silently pantomimed answers to questions regarding the Browns' QB situation," Rapoport wrote for NFL Network. "Sources say Sanders had a discussion with team officials that his approach to that media session was a message that got lost in translation."
So, while Ryan was not named, the report seems to confirm that Sanders's intent was to fire back at media discussions surrounding his status rather than a response to the Gabriel move. Given the confused reception the interview was met with regardless, saying it was lost in translation is accurate.
It's always interesting with the Sanders family. Shedeur is no different.
Rapoport also mentioned that the Browns didn't promote him to backup quarterback because they don't want to force him into relief duty for Gabriel without a game plan designed for Sanders himself. So while his time may yet come, Sanders won't see the field anytime soon in anything other than an emergency capacity.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Shedeur Sanders Explained Silent Interview to Browns Team Officials.
