Yahoo News Todd Gurley: Deion Sanders isn't a fan of me wearing No. 21 with the Falcons
Todd Gurley apparently does not have Deion Sanders’ blessing to wear No. 21 with the Atlanta Falcons.
Gurley wore No. 3 in his college career at Georgia, but NFL rules prohibit running backs from wearing a jersey lower than the No. 20 and higher than 49. He wore No. 30 as a member of the Los Angeles Rams and is adding two numbers to equal No. 3 again with the Falcons with No. 21.
According to Gurley, the Hall of Fame cornerback and current NFL Network analyst is not in agreement with his decision.
“Hey man, Prime was hating on me. He told me don’t wear it,” Gurley told Atlanta’s 92.9 The Game on Friday.
Why?
“Because it’s Prime. If I was Prime I wouldn’t want anybody wearing my number either.”
Fair point, though Sanders took to Twitter Sunday afternoon to say he was joking.
Thank u for your love but it ain’t that deep to me. I was joking with @TG3II I love that youngsta and proud that he will represent it right. I love these kids that play today and wish them all well. “A NUMBER DIDN’T MAKE PRIME PRIME MADE THE NUMBER. #Truth Man they have a DEION https://t.co/nn2ZN4HvYs
— Deion Sanders (@DeionSanders) April 12, 2020
Sanders wore the No. 21 throughout the first stint of his NFL career with the Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He wore No. 37 in his two-year comeback with the Baltimore Ravens in 2004 and 2005 after a three-season hiatus.
He made the No. 21 iconic when he was with the Falcons and started his quest to play in Major League Baseball and the NFL at the same time. And as long as the Falcons haven’t retired his jersey, anyone can and should be free to wear it. After all, Desmond Trufant wore No. 21 before signing with the Detroit Lions this offseason.
And besides, Gurley will be wearing No. 21 in differently-styled Falcons jerseys than Sanders wore. The Falcons revealed new jerseys for 2020 last week and, well, many folks thought they were underwhelming. It would have been awesome had they gone back to the 1990s-era jerseys they wore when Sanders was with the team.
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