Hopefully too many Browns fans didn’t buy Shedeur Sanders jerseys last season.
After being selected by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft and starting seven games for the club as a rookie, the 24-year-old quarterback is changing his digits heading into the coming campaign.
As announced by the team on Monday, Sanders is switching from No. 12 to No. 2 in 2026, returning to the number he wore in high school and both of his college stops at Jackson State and Colorado.
S2 ⌚
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) March 30, 2026
Shedeur Sanders will wear number 2 next season pic.twitter.com/7ahSitctcs
No. 2 was worn by Browns wide receiver DeAndre Carter—who played in just four games with the club—in 2025, which forced Sanders into No. 12. Carter is now a free agent, meaning Sanders gets his threads back.
Over seven starts last season, Sanders appeared in eight games for the Browns last season, starting seven while completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Cleveland went 3–4 with him under center, and he was named to the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster as an alternate after Drake Maye and the Patriots made it to Super Bowl LX.
Will Shedeur Sanders start for Browns in 2025?
While Sanders ended 2025 as Cleveland’s QB1, he’s far from a shoo-in to start this coming season in the same position.
The Browns currently have three quarterbacks on their roster: Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Deshaun Watson. Like Sanders, Gabriel is headed into his second NFL season and coming off six starts of his own as a rookie, while Watson—the beneficiary of one of the worst contracts in recent history—missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign recovering from an Achilles injury. When speaking at the NFL combine last month, new Browns coach Todd Monken called it an “open competition” for the starting role.
“I mean, I don't know why it wouldn't be an open competition,” he explained. “I don't mean that saying it harshly, but I don't think there's enough on film over the last couple years—one way or the other—to say, ‘Boy, we have our starter at quarterback yet.’ Whether internally or externally.”
RELATED: Todd Monken Greeted Shedeur Sanders With Perfect One-Liner at Browns Facility
“I'm excited about Shedeur, excited about Deshaun and Dillon,” Monken said of Cleveland's quarterback room. “I'm excited about the prospects, not only in free agency but also in the draft, and we'll see where it all falls. Ultimately, you've got to do whatever you need to do, especially at that position, to put yourself in position to score points.”
Because they hired a new head coach, the Browns are able to begin their offseason workout program on April 6. That head start should offer some additional insight into what the team is thinking at quarterback heading into the 2026 campaign.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shedeur Sanders Changes Jersey Number Ahead of Second Season With Browns.
