Lily Maxwell
Why Shedeur Sanders is changing Browns jersey to No. 2 after wearing 12 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Browns took Shedeur Sanders as their second quarterback selected in the 2025 NFL Draft after selecting Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
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Sanders initially was a backup to begin the year, but took over down the stretch and showed some promise as he closed out the regular season.
Heading into the 2026 season, Sanders will be wearing a different uniform. As the Browns announced, the Pro Bowl quarterback is changing his jersey number, going from No. 12 to No. 2. Why is he making this change? It’s a very simple reason.
Why Shedeur Sanders is changing to No. 2 from 12
The Browns shared the following announcement on Monday about Sander’s jersey number: “S2. Shedeur Sanders will wear number 2 next season.”
The new look for Sanders is actually not unfamiliar to the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback. During his collegiate playing days at Colorado under Deion Sanders, he wore No. 2 for his two seasons as a starter.
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The all-time FBS/Division 1-A completion percentage leader at 71.8% for his career, Sanders wore No. 2 during his two seasons playing college football.
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Last season, he was assigned to wear No. 12, as DeAndre Carter wore the No. 2 uniform. Sanders donned 12 instead.
But now, Carter is a free agent, making No. 2 available for Sanders, who takes on his former college number in the NFL.
He had plenty of success with No. 2 in college, throwing for 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 2024 across 13 games.
While he won’t match those numbers in the same number of games, if he could put up those numbers over the course of a full 17-game NFL season, Sanders would prove he’s worthy of a starting QB spot in the NFL.
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The Browns’ new No. 2 is heading into his second NFL season and will look to bring the success he had with No. 2 in college into the NFL as he makes the case for a starting job in the NFL.
