Fact Check: Did Shedeur Sanders Request a Trade After Dillon Gabriel Secured the QB1 Role?

The Cleveland Browns are turning the keys over to rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He has been promoted as starter over fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders and takes over from veteran Joe Flacco, who has been benched following the team’s 1-3 start.

The 40-year-old Super Bowl XLVII MVP will remain the backup for the Browns’ international game against the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday. Sanders, meanwhile, has yet to play a regular-season snap and remains Cleveland’s third-string quarterback.

Claim: Following this development, a video circulated this week that appeared to show Shedeur Sanders angrily requesting a trade after being passed over for the starting job. The clip contained inflammatory quotes about Cleveland, head coach Kevin Stefanski, and the city itself, including a line about “streetlights not working at night.”

Verdict: No, Shedeur Sanders did not request a trade, and the video doing the rounds claiming so is false. The “quote” that spread online is an AI-generated parody. Sanders remains with the Browns.

Sanders had taken an unusual approach with the media after Gabriel’s promotion. When asked on Wednesday about being listed as QB3, Sanders remained silent. Reporters repeatedly pressed him to express his thoughts, but Sanders responded with smiles, shrugs, and more silent answers.

That could have led to opportunists spreading this fake AI-generated “statement”. The over-the-top nature of the language, including references to LeBron James and a refusal to travel to London, makes it clear that the content is fabricated.

Last week, Sanders shared openly about the situation in an interview with ESPN Cleveland. “If you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that. I don’t think playing or not playing is in my hands… I’ll be ready to play. I’m ready to play right now,” he said.

The Browns held a four-man quarterback competition in the preseason, but Sanders’ progress was slowed by an oblique injury that forced him to miss the second exhibition game. In the finale, he struggled, while Gabriel thrived. That performance may have cemented the rookie’s rise on the depth chart.

Gabriel also got brief regular-season work in Weeks 2 and 4, throwing his first touchdown pass against Baltimore and showing enough poise in garbage time to earn a promotion.