Shedeur Sanders reclaims his college number with Browns for 2026 season
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Shedeur Sanders is making a jersey change and returning to his Colorado roots as he enters his second season in the NFL.
Sanders, who wore number 12 during his rookie season, will wear number 2 with the Cleveland Browns next year.
As the Browns made it official on social media, Sanders did the same, writing “number 2” over the X to coincide with his suit.
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Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns performs for the national anthem before the NFL 2025 preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on August 8, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Logan Bowles/Getty Images) (Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
The move comes after wide receiver DeAndre Carter, who played for Cleveland last season, is no longer on the roster. Now that he has a year under his belt, Sanders could make a change.
And he does it with his old college trick; Sanders wore No. 2 at Jackson State University before transferring to Colorado, where his father, Deion Sanders, held the head coaching role with the Buffaloes.
SHEDEUR SANDERS’ CRAZY 2025 STARTED WITH A DRAFT BUT ENDS WITH HOPE AFTER DIFFICULT RETURNS
While wearing No. 12 last season, Sanders started the year in a depth role with Joe Flacco as Kevin Stefanski’s starting quarterback. But when Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals following an injury to Joe Burrow, Dillon Gabriel, who was selected two rounds ahead of Sanders in a shocking NFL Draft for the Buffaloes product, took over the role.
He was going to be Gabriel’s backup, but after Gabriel’s difficulties and injuries, it was Sanders’ turn.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders reacts on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Sanders won his first start against the Las Vegas Raiders and remained a starter the rest of the season, going 3-4 in seven starts. Stefanski has since been fired; head coach Todd Monken has been hired, and the veteran coach, who served as John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, reiterated what he said the Browns will have an open quarterback competition heading into 2026.
Monken told NFL Network at Monday’s NFL owners meeting in Phoenix that the Browns “haven’t gotten that far yet” in naming Sanders as the starter to begin the team’s offseason program.
Deshaun Watson, who had a tumultuous tenure with the Browns, is back with the team, while Gabriel is back healthy heading into 2026.
Sanders is acutely aware that he will have to prove himself again with the new coaching staff in the building, as that is, after all, the nature of the NFL except for a rare group of certified starters.
Shedeur Sanders (12) and Teven Jenkins (74) of the Cleveland Browns celebrate a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans on December 7, 2025 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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But despite the small sample size in the NFL field, Sanders has a Pro Bowl under his belt. He aims to recapture the momentum he had last season, but this will be a fresh start with a new home run.
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