Is Deion Sanders out of line telling Todd Gurley not to wear No. 21?

Former FSU great Deion Sanders is one of the greatest players in NFL history. Should he tell players not to wear his number if it’s not retired?

Deion Sanders was never afraid to share his opinion on things when on the football field. That hasn’t changed since he retired either.

Sanders was selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Sanders played five seasons with the Falcons and was inducted into the Atlanta Falcon’s Ring of Honor.

He left the Falcons to sign with the San Francisco 49ers and famously returned an interception for a 93-yard touchdown in his first game back against the Falcons.

He wore No. 21 most of his career and apparently told new Falcon running back Todd Gurley not to wear that number in the upcoming season.

Florida State Seminoles Football

Gurley wore No. 30 during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. Was Deion Sanders out of line telling Gurley not to wear No. 21?

To his credit, Gurley stated he wouldn’t want anyone to wear the number either if he was Sanders. Gurley didn’t wear No. 21 in college either.

Thoughts

I understand where Sanders wouldn’t want anyone to wear the number. The only problem is Desmond Trufant wore No. 21 for years while in Atlanta. I guess he didn’t want him to wear it either? Albeit, Trufant did play cornerback, the same position as Sanders.

Maybe he’s OK with players wearing the number if they’re a defensive back? He interviewed Trufant in 2017 and the subject came up. Trufant said he wanted to set the bar high by wearing the number, knowing the weight that came along with it.

We don’t have Sanders’ side of the story or exactly what was said to Todd Gurley, but maybe Sanders feels younger players owe him that respect of not wearing the number unless they are a cornerback with Trufant’s way of showing respect to him?