The quarterback competition at Berea was thought to be between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson. But the last training camp practice revealed that even Dillon Gabriel is now in the mix, a development that one close ally of Sanders found hard to believe.

“People vouching for this over what’s been out on display shows you just how wild the world that we live in, is!!! They hate that bad, that they’ll try to convince you that this is better,” Hellion ‘Boog’ Knight, head of operations and president/leader for Young Money APAA Sports & Entertainment, wrote on X.

The clip Knight was reacting to showed Gabriel struggling with accuracy at practice, as most of his passes were incomplete and missed the receivers completely. That’s why Knight took a clear shot at Gabriel, questioning how he could even be in the conversation to start this season.

Boog Knight is a close confidant and media manager for Sanders’ pro and branding journey and has defended the young quarterback from criticism before.

Last year, when Sanders was freshly drafted and chose to arrive in Cleveland a week before rookie practices began, he faced backlash for the timing of his arrival.

At that time, Knight stepped in to clarify the situation on X. He explained that he was the one who posted about Sanders being in Cleveland, not the other way around. The media manager also drew a line, writing, “Don’t attack the kid, come at me. I’m ok with it.”

This time, his comments are aimed at the growing debate around Gabriel getting more reps than Sanders and Watson, even though the battle was originally framed as a two-man race.

According to Cleveland Browns reporter Daniel Oyefusi, Gabriel “led the 2s to end the period,” a sequence that resulted in fewer reps for both Sanders and Watson. However, the Browns’ official website painted a slightly different picture. On Day 10 of practice, Watson took the first-team reps, while Sanders and Gabriel worked with the second unit on a rotational basis.

Gabriel has made it clear that he is “focused on mastering” his reps right now. He says he is not worried about whether he is truly in the running for the starting job. If you go by the chatter around the league, the third-round pick could definitely be a QB2 option, but as things are progressing it seems like either Sanders or Watson will lead the way.

Still, in less than a week, the Browns will open their preseason against the Chicago Bears. Soon enough, the film will tell us who is actually leading the room and who will start the regular season for Cleveland this year.