Deion Sanders says he was 'joking' when he told Todd Gurley not to wear No. 21 with Falcons
Shortly after the Atlanta Falcons signed running back Todd Gurley, there was speculation about what number he would choose.
The No. 30 that Gurley wore with the Rams was taken by Qadree Ollison as a tribute to his brother, who was killed in a 2017 shooting. So, Gurley wasn't going to make a push for that number. And NFL rules didn't allow Gurley to go back to the No. 3 that he wore with the Georgia Bulldogs.
So, he turned to the famed No. 21, which was Deion Sanders' old number and newly vacant after Desmond Trufant's departure. The only problem was that Sanders allegedly didn't want Gurley to wear the number.
In an Atlanta radio interview, Gurley said of the number, "Prime was hating on me. He told me don't wear it."
But Gurley is still going to wear No. 21, and it's evidently all good with Sanders. The former Falcons star tweeted on Sunday that he was actually joking with Gurley when they discussed the number.
Sanders added that he was sure that Gurley would represent the number well.
Sanders was selected by the Falcons with the fifth pick of the 1989 draft. The Hall of Famer spent five seasons with Atlanta, before making stops with the 49ers and Cowboys – winning back-to-back Super Bowls with San Francisco in 1994 and Dallas in 1995 – then with the Redskins. He retired after the 2000 season, but returned to the field in 2004, spending two seasons with the Ravens. Prime Time gained entry to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.