Ex-NFL Star Jon Beason Fine With Shedeur Jersey Retirement, But Admits 'It's Early'

You won't catch Jon Beason boycotting Shedeur Sanders' jersey retirement later Saturday ... the former NFL star tells TMZ Sports he's cool with the honor -- although he does admit, it is a bit early.

The ex-Univ. of Miami linebacker -- who actually wore No. 2 with the Hurricanes to pay homage to Shedeur's dad, Deion Sanders -- broke down the situation for us while out at the grand opening of his new Dynasty Commodities cannabis dispensary in New York City.

Beason noted that most teams wait much longer to honor their stars ... but he said, at the end of the day, he doesn't have any qualms with it.

"He's done a lot in college," Beason said of the former Buffs signal-caller.

There are many in the college football world who don't exactly see it Beason's way ... in fact, Colorado legend Chad Brown told us this week he found the matter "a bit odd." He said he'd much rather see his former CU teammate, Deon Figures, have the No. 2 retired first.

Deion, meanwhile, has defended his program's decision, telling media on Thursday that Shedeur did a helluva lot to turn around the school in just two short years.

Either way, Beason is expecting it all to motivate Shedeur at the next level -- telling us, "It should drive him."