Shedeur Sanders is making a jersey change heading into his sophomore NFL season, and he’s going back to his Colorado roots. 

Sanders, who wore No. 12 during his rookie season, will wear No. 2 next year for the Cleveland Browns. 

As the Browns made it official on social media, Sanders did so as well, writing “#2” on X to coincide with his squad. 

The move comes after wide receiver DeAndre Carter, who wore the number for Cleveland last season, is no longer on the roster. Now that he has a year under his belt, Sanders can make the change. 

And he does so with his old college number, as Sanders wore No. 2 at Jackson State University before transferring to Colorado, as his father, Deion Sanders, took the head coach role with the Buffaloes. 

SHEDEUR SANDERS’ WILD 2025 BEGAN WITH DRAFT FALL, BUT IT’S ENDING WITH HOPE AFTER TUMULTUOUS TURNS

While he was wearing No. 12 last season, Sanders started the year in a depth role, as veteran Joe Flacco was Kevin Stefanski’s starting quarterback. But, when Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals following Joe Burrow’s injury, Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted two rounds before Sanders in a shocking NFL Draft for the Buffaloes product, took over the role. 

He would be Gabriel’s backup, but after the latter’s struggles and injury, it was Sanders’ time to step up. 

Sanders won his first-ever start against the Las Vegas Raiders and went 3-4 across seven starts as he remained the starter for the remainder of the season. Since then, Stefanski was fired; head coach Todd Monken was hired, and the veteran coach who served as John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens echoed what the Browns said heading into 2026 — there will be an open quarterback competition. 

Monken told NFL Network at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix on Monday that the Browns haven’t “gotten that far yet” in terms of naming Sanders their starter heading into the team’s offseason program. 

Deshaun Watson, who has had a turbulent Browns tenure, is back in the fold, while Gabriel is back healthy heading into 2026. 

Sanders surely understands he’ll have to prove himself again with a new coaching staff in the building, as that’s ultimately the nature of the NFL except for a rare group of certified starters. 

But Sanders has a Pro Bowl under his belt already despite the small sample size on the NFL gridiron. He’s looking to build off the momentum of last season, but it’ll be a fresh start with a new number.  

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The Lakers followed the lead of their oldest member, the triple-double producing LeBron James, in dispatching the Wizards 120-101 at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.

Two days off between games left James looking spry, with lob dunks and dunks on the fast break contributing to his 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. James was eight for 16 from the field in notching his third triple-double of the season and the 125th of his 23-year NBA career, ranking him fifth all time.

At 41 years and 90 days old, James once again became the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double, passing his previous mark (41 years, 79 days).

“I mean, I’ve had moments more this year and last year that I’ve enjoyed more in the moment,” James said. “It’s pretty cool to know that I’m at this point in my career (and) I’m still able to do those things, man. It’s super dope. It’s super humbling. And I just try to put the work in and continue to put the work in and those are the results of it.”

James achieved the triple-double despite playing just 33 minutes.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to say. He’s very praise-worthy,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I tried to give every version of the same soliloquy about his longevity. But I don’t have anything for you tonight.”

For James and his teammates, Sunday’s practice had “value” because it allowed them to clean up some things, do some “teaching” and get some “reps” that will pay off with the playoffs approaching.

They put that into action against the Wizards, but the Lakers did so without star guard Luka Doncic, who did not play after being given a one-game suspension by the NBA for his 16th technical foul.

Austin Reaves took over the primarily ballhandling duties with Doncic out, running the show in delivering a near double-double with 19 points and nine assists. Reaves was just four for 11 from the field and he missed all four of his three-point attempts, but he was 11 for 12 from the line.

Lakers guard Luke Kennard, center, drives between Washington’s Tre Johnson, left, and Jamir Watkins during the first half Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Backup center Jaxson Hayes was outstanding in scoring 19 points on eight-for-eight shooting, including a three-pointer with six minutes and 41 seconds left.

Luke Kennard had 19 points off the bench, knocking down four of five from three-point range.

Deandre Ayton was a force for the Lakers, his efficient five-for-five shooting leading to 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Each of them played their part to help the Lakers win for the 12th time in 13 games and limit the effect of Doncic’s absence.

Doncic leads the NBA in scoring (33.7 points per game), is fourth in assists (8.2), second three-pointers made (4.0) and first in points scored in the first quarter (12.0). He’ll return against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

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“Yeah, I mean we had a professional approach,” James said. “We came in, we got the job done, understanding it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re still trying to build habits for the postseason. So, a good win for us.”

Although the Lakers won handily, it was against a Wizards team tied for the worst record in the NBA (17-58). Washington has lost 18 of its past 19 games.

For the Lakers (49-26), the game was about making strides from a practice they rarely get to have.

“The value is being able to continue to improve,” Redick said before the game. “And again, I said this, we’ve placed a heavy emphasis on what we’re teaching in film and what we’re cleaning up in film, because we haven’t had court time to do that. So [Sunday], it was some of the game clean-up stuff. All the guys got some reps doing some things that they probably won’t do during a real game.”

NBA legend Michael Jordan’s new love in sports is coming on a racetrack instead of a court. 

But the competitive juices he’s known for remain flowing, as his 23XI Racing team sits atop the 2026 NASCAR Cup standings thanks to the four wins Tyler Reddick has already put through in seven starts.  

Jordan made an appearance on “CBS Mornings,” where co-host Gayle King discussed his competitive spirit now in NASCAR. Jordan’s response was that he’s “cursed” with the need to push for greatness — no matter the task at hand. 

“Think I’m cursed,” Jordan said. “I’m cursed with this competitive gene that anything that I do is from a competitive lens, you know? And in some ways, that keeps me young. It keeps me aggressively thinking positively. It helps me either understand everything that I’m involved and I’m connected with.”

Jordan told King that even the minuscule task of getting ready in the morning turns competitive when he knows his wife, Yvette, is involved. 

MICHAEL JORDAN’S NASCAR DRIVER MAKES HISTORY WITH 3RD STRAIGHT WIN TO START 2026 SEASON

“I gotta get in the shower and get into the bathroom before she comes in so she doesn’t slow down my time, and I can get to the golf course in time,” Jordan explained. “I gotta drop the kids off. I got all these other things I gotta do.”

Of course, Jordan’s competitiveness has been on full display since his days at UNC before becoming an NBA legend with the Chicago Bulls. He doesn’t know when exactly that need to be competitive came to be, but he knows it was childhood. 

“I don’t know. I think that my appetite to prove as a kid created this competitive thing within me that has transcended and taken over everything that I do,” he said. “And I think it’s a good trait to have because some people don’t have that trait.

“Some people get right at the cusp of what success really means, and they can never get over that hump. I think it helps you evaluate every stage of success. Believe me, I’ve had my failures in terms of the stages.”

For 23XI racing, which is co-owned by veteran NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, it wasn’t an immediate success. But through hard work and determination, 23XI Racing has developed into a premier team. 

Because of the success and the slow climb to get to this point in NASCAR, Jordan can’t shake that competitive bug. 

“Once I get over it, it’s infectious,” he said. “It’s that feeling of, you know, you’ve accomplished something. I’ve gotten to that hill. It’s a long road getting up that hill.

“I think that every time you see me giddy down into that in the pit, it’s because we’re doing it. We absolutely are doing it. We’re starting to make a difference in a sport that no one thought we could make a difference in.”

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