53 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 53 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 53 jersey number

The New England Patriots are officially 53 days away from their 2023 regular season opener. That means we’re continuing our ongoing countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn a No. 53 jersey.

The last player to wear the numbers was Josh Uche in his 2020 rookie season. He obviously came into the league with big shoes to fill as a linebacker wearing the same number as former Patriot and two-time Super Bowl champion Kyle Van Noy.

Former three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro linebacker Larry Izzo also wore the No. 53. when helping kick-start the Patriots’ dynasty by appearing on the franchise’s first three Super Bowl teams.

Here’s every Patriots player that has worn the number throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):

Report: Seahawks DT Al Woods suspended 4 games for PED use

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Al Woods was reportedly suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on PEDs.

The banged up Seattle Seahawks defense suffered another blow on Friday with the news that veteran defensive tackle Al Woods will be suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs, according to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Woods becomes the second Seahawks player this week to be suspended for drug use, following the indefinite suspension handed to receiver Josh Gordon on Monday.

While the Seahawks feel confident in their receiving corps even without Gordon, the same cannot be said for the team’s defensive line.

With Jadeveon Clowney and Ezekiel Ansah both nursing injuries, the Seahawks are thin on the defensive line heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cardinals. Woods’ roster spot will almost certainly be used to add depth on the defensive line, with undrafted free agent Bryan Mone likely getting recalled from the practice squad.

Dekoda Watson, whom the Seahawks signed to take Gordon’s roster spot, is more of a rusher off the edge and likely won’t replace Woods as a run-stopper in the middle.

Woods had a strong season with the Seahawks, playing alongside Poona Ford and creating a formidable run-stopping tandem up front.

He recorded 32 combined tackles, including three for a loss, one quarterback hit and one sack on the season.

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Seattle Seahawks sign linebacker Dekoda Watson

The Seattle Seahawks brought back linebacker Dekoda Watson, who was signed for two days in October before the team claimed Josh Gordon.

The Seattle Seahawks signed veteran linebacker Dekoda Watson to the active roster, taking the place of suspended receiver Josh Gordon.

This is Watson’s second time being signed by the Seahawks this season. He originally signed on October 30, with the hope that he would help contribute on the special teams and on Seattle’s depleted pass rush unit.

“We’re gonna give him a chance to give us some rush on the edge,” coach Pete Carroll commented after the signing. “He’s been a really accomplished [special] teams guy too. We’re hoping he can give us some additional boost there. We’ll see.”

However, Watson’s first stint in Seattle only lasted a few days, as the team released him to make room for Gordon, who they won on waiver claims two days later.

Now he’s back, this time replacing Gordon, and he’ll once again have a chance to contribute off the edge and on special teams.

The nine-year veteran has primarily been a special teams contributor, but he does have six career sacks – including two in 2018 as a member of the 49ers.

The Seahawks also shuffled things around on the practice squad, cutting linebacker Jermaine Grace and replacing him with rookie linebacker Sutton Smith, who was a sixth round pick by Pittsburgh this year out of Northern Illinois.

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