Browns name Dillon Gabriel starter as Sanders mimes to reporters

Shedeur Sanders, the Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback, silently mouthed answers to reporters on Wednesday at the team facility in Berea after the Browns announced second-year rookie Dillon Gabriel would start Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Sanders, who remains the team’s third-string quarterback, appeared to conduct the pantomime interview in response to public criticism leveled at him earlier in the week by former coach Rex Ryan and drew widespread comment from analysts, former players and his father, Deion Sanders.

The incident unfolded shortly after the Browns elevated Gabriel to the starting role and moved veteran Joe Flacco to the backup spot. Sanders, who did not speak during the exchange, smiled and mouthed responses as reporters waited, producing a viral clip that prompted varying interpretations. Team sources said the imitation was a reaction to Ryan’s on-air critique following Sanders’s remark last week that, "If you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I'm capable of doing better than that."

Ryan’s remarks about Sanders were blunt and direct. He told critics that Sanders "runs his mouth" and said the rookie should "get your a in...