BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders wants nothing more than stability at quarterback — like he had for years with his son — and confirmed that Ryan Staub is indeed taking the majority of snaps in practice.

That's as far as the Colorado coach would go, though. He declined to confirm a report from ESPN that Staub is expected to go from third-stringer to starter for Colorado’s Big 12 opener Friday night at Houston.

“I haven’t made that assessment and decision yet,” Sanders said Tuesday.

One thing is clear: Sanders prefers not to do a rotation again. He gave each of his QBs two series apiece last weekend against Delaware to see what they could do.

Staub, the third QB to enter, made the most of his chance when he took over late in the first half. He threw a TD pass just before halftime and another right after the break. He finished 7 of 10 for 157 yards to help the Buffaloes improve to 1-1.

That just may have been enough to land him the QB1 gig over transfer Kaidon Salter, the starter the past two weeks, and freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis. Sanders didn't have this type of QB quandary the past two seasons with his son, Shedeur, in Boulder.

“I don’t want to play musical chairs at quarterback,” Sanders said. “Why would I want to come to the game and do that? It's like spinning the darn wheel ... I wasn’t good at roulette.”

To keep things light, Sanders quickly added: “But I would put everything on 21 black,” a reference to the No. 21 he famously wore during his Hall of Fame career.

In Colorado's 31-7 win over Delaware, Salter did his part by staking Colorado to a 10-0 lead in his two series. The Liberty transfer handed the offensive controls over to Lewis, the 17-year-old who’s considered the future of the program. Lewis didn’t produce any points while directing the offense.

Staub came in with 45 seconds left in the first half and shined. He ended up playing four straight series. His teammates congratulated him and the student section chanted his name.

This won't be a popularity contest, though.

“Oftentimes, what the team thinks may not be correct. Oftentimes, what the fans think or the media ...," Sanders said. “It’s got to be what we as coaches have come to the conclusion of what best fits us, for where we’re headed.”

Any concerns over not having a solidified No. 1 quarterback?

“A solidified quarterback? Who has one of those?” Sanders asked. “What does that look like? What is a solidified quarterback look like? What does that look like? I want to know. We play a quarterback every week. What does a solidified quarterback look like?”

His son, Shedeur, someone suggested.

“That's what I thought, too," Deion Sanders said as he clapped his hands. “Thank you, Lord. Thank you for that setup.”

Staub spent the past two seasons as the backup to Shedeur Sanders. They still have a tight bond even with Sanders now in Cleveland. Sanders has been reaching out Staub, which comes as no surprise to the Colorado coach given that Staub “is a lovable dude, man,” Deion Sanders said.

“Everybody who played here previously had reached out to him and congratulated him," Sanders said. "He’s always been a standup guy. No matter who's starting, he's always been there in support. He's not going to be one of those guys who, somebody else is starting, he's sitting on the bench mad, sulking. He's not built like that. He's going be there in support and make sure you're prepared."

Staub started for the Buffaloes in the final game of the 2023 season, when Shedeur Sanders was sidelined by an injury. Staub threw for 195 yards in a 23-17 loss at Utah along with his first career touchdown to Travis Hunter.

Last season, Staub was limited to 20 snaps over four appearances in his backup role.

“He's the ultimate teammate. He’s the ultimate character guy. Those are the type of guys that we’re looking for," Deion Sanders said. “Oftentimes, those guys don’t come with the three, four or five stars that you guys get excited about. I’m looking more at, ‘Can they play here? Do they fit who we are?’”

Sanders pointed out Staub's role before stepping on the field last weekend was relaying signals.

“Going from giving signals to getting in the game?” Sanders said. "Come on, man, that don't happen. This is a real-life story that's happening right before your eyes."

Dodgers open 2-game lead in NL West with 7-2 win over Rockies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teoscar Hernández hit two home runs and Emmet Sheehan pitched seven splendid innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Tuesday night.

Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also went deep for the Dodgers, who increased their lead in the NL West to two games over San Diego. The second-place Padres lost 4-2 at home to Cincinnati.

Sheehan (6-3) allowed three hits and struck out nine. He retired his first 15 batters before Kyle Karros, son of former Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros, singled to left field leading off the sixth.

In 2023, Sheehan threw six no-hit innings in his major league debut.

The right-hander yielded just one run Tuesday, when Tyler Freeman hit an RBI single in the sixth.

Betts hit a two-run homer to left-center to make it 3-0 in the third. Hernández had three hits, including solo homers in the fourth and eighth to reach 80 RBIs.

Germán Márquez (3-13) gave up five runs and six hits in five innings. The right-hander hasn't won since June 18.

Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman hit his 30th homer in the ninth. The last-place Rockies (40-105) have lost four in a row and seven of eight.

Key moments

Will Smith scored on Márquez's wild pitch to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Shohei Ohtani made it 5-0 with an RBI single in the fifth.

Key stat

Colorado has lost a franchise-record 105 games — and there are still 17 remaining.

Up next

Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-14, 5.10 ERA) threw eight scoreless innings and struck out 10 to beat San Diego last Friday.

Dodgers LHP Blake Snell (3-4, 3.19) gave up five earned runs over five innings in a loss at Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Sidney Crosby understands why trade talk surrounds him as the Penguins keep losing

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sidney Crosby is well aware of the trade talk swirling around him, now that he and the Pittsburgh Penguins have gone three seasons without making the playoffs.

Going into another at age 38 with little realistic hope of the team contending, the three-time Stanley Cup champion acknowledged the rumors are now part of his reality, even if he'd rather they not be.

“I understand it,” Crosby said Monday night at the NHL player media tour on the Las Vegas Strip. “That’s the hard part about losing. Everybody thinks that the losing is the buzzer goes (off), you lose a game and that sucks, but there’s so much more than that. It’s the turnover. It’s the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks. That’s the stuff that’s tough.”

A year ago, Crosby signed an extension that keeps him under contract through the 2026-27 season with the only professional organization he has ever known. It came with a team-friendly $8.7 million salary cap hit — the same he has had through 2008 and a nod to his jersey No. 87 — and provides room to build around the face of the franchise.

Instead, the Penguins look to be in rebuilding mode. They sold at the trade deadline in March, and veterans ranging from Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell to Erik Karlsson have been speculated as trade candidates even more realistically than Crosby.

“It hasn’t changed my approach,” Crosby said. “I still go out there trying to win every single game and try to be the best that I can be, and I think that youth and having that energy around you isn’t a bad thing either. We’ve got a lot of hungry guys, a lot of competition for spots. I think you just try to find different things that you can feed off of and still continue to learn through it.”

Crosby has a full no-movement clause, essentially putting him in control of his future. He has been linked to Colorado, where close friend Nathan MacKinnon has the Avalanche as one of the top teams in the Western Conference, and even Montreal, especially after starring there during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

Growing up in Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia, Crosby was a Canadiens fan and mentioned that during the 4 Nations. So, yes, he understands why folks might think he'd want to play there for an organization on the rise in a hockey-crazed market.

“I get it, trust me," Crosby said, recalling being in Montreal in June early in his time in the league and marveling at how broadcasts were already projecting lineups for the next training camp in September. "They’re so into it, and I get it as to why that would come up and that sort of thing. It doesn’t make it any easier when you’re losing, for sure, to hear those things, but at the same time, to know that a team like that wants you, it’s not the end of the world. It could be worse. I just think that’s part of it.”