After another disappointing 2025 season, the Cleveland Browns have announced big changes to the quarterback room involving Shedeur Sanders. The former Colorado Buffaloes signal-caller showed glimpses of potential in his rookie season; however, he failed to lock down the QB1 role. With rumblings about previously injured veteran Deshaun Watson receiving starting nods, the Browns have confirmed a significant change for Sanders ahead of the new season.

“S2⌚Shedeur Sanders will wear number 2 next season,” the Cleveland Browns confirmed on social media.

The significance behind this change in number is that Sanders previously wore this jersey number while playing at Trinity Christian High School. He then continued with the number throughout his college career at both Jackson State and Colorado. However, in his rookie season, the number wasn’t available to Sanders as wide receiver DeAndre Carter had it after signing a one-year deal in free agency.

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Now, ahead of the 2026 season, with Carter no longer on the roster, Sanders will don the jersey number he has had a lot of success with. After a successful high school tenure, the 22-year-old recorded 7,364 yards and 64 touchdowns in his two-year college career while finishing third in the nation in passing yards and second in touchdown passes (35) behind only the first overall pick Cam Ward (36) in the 2024 season.

However, unlike Sanders, the number two jersey hasn’t worked out well for the Cleveland Browns over the years, with Carter playing only four times while recording zero receptions. Then, in the 2024 season, Bailey Zappe wore number two in one game as the backup quarterback. He finished 16-of-31 for 170 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Similarly, other quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel and Tim Couch have also donned the number two but failed to create a positive impact on the franchise. So far, wideout Amari Cooper has been the most successful player to ever wear number two in Cleveland, with his back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022-23, catching 14 touchdowns in 32 games.

Now the onus will be on Shedeur Sanders to break this curse by putting forth an improved performance after a year where he finished with 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, with a 56.6% completion rate. Drafted 144th overall, he added 169 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown, with the team going 3-4 in his final seven starts.

However, this could prove to be a tall task for Shedeur Sanders, with speculation around the return of veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson. The 29-year-old went down with his second Achilles injury in the  2024 season and is expected to get a bigger opportunity to play, per Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s recent comments.

Browns owner hopes for a “fresh start” for Watson in 2026

After a stellar start to his NFL career with three Pro Bowl appearances while leading the Houston Texans to two AFC South titles (2018, 2019) and a 10-6 record in 2019, the world came crashing down for Deshaun Watson in 2021. He sat out that season after demanding a trade and facing 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct.

With the Browns expressing interest, Watson was traded to Cleveland and signed a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract in March 2022. Then, as the next season began, Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. After his return, his game went down even before he sustained multiple injuries.

Watson played six games each in 2022 and 2023 and seven in 2024 before his first Achilles tear ended his season. However, ahead of the 2026 season, with the veteran signal-caller returning to full fitness, the Browns’ owner, Jimmy Haslam, believes a fresh start with new head coach Todd Monken is on the cards.

“Deshaun has a great chance, a fresh start, an offensive-minded coach who has in his past been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make them successful,” Haslam said, according to ESPN. “So, Deshaun has a great chance to do that now. We talked to him the other day, and he said he weighs the [least] he has in several years. He’s in great shape, he’ll be [in Cleveland] on April 7 when we start [the offseason workout program]. Let’s see what Deshaun can do. We’re all excited.”

Whether Deshaun Watson will return to his Pro-Bowl form, only time will tell. But in the meantime, the veteran signal-caller will face tough competition from Shedeur Sanders, who also hopes to lock down the QB1 role in the