Tag: Jersey

Saints labeled a perfect fit for this 2025 draft prospect

The Saints should look to bolster their running backs room this offseason, and this Bleacher Report writer believes Dylan Sampson is a perfect fit:

Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski believes the New Orleans Saints are a perfect fit for Dylan Sampson, a popular prospect in the 2025 NFL draft. The last time the Saints drafted a running back from Tennessee, you could say it worked out alright. Sampson even wears the same No. 6 jersey that Alvin Kamara used with the Volunteers.

Right now the running back room includes Kamara, Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams. Jordan Mims and Xazavian Valladay are also in the mix but they’ll both be free agents in the spring.

And Kamara is the only one guaranteed a spot next year. Williams being a cap casualty is a strong possibility when looking at his usage over the past two years. Miller’s injury history makes it hard to trust him even if he remains healthy to close the season. There will be a feeling in the back of the mind that’s hard to shake. Miller has the potential to be Kamara’s running mate, but if he suffers another injury, that would leave the Saints out to dry.

Seeing that Kamara could be on his final contract, investing in a running mate is a logical choice. Georgia coach Kirby Smart called Sampson “an elite runner.” He went on to directly compare Sampson to Kamara, saying, “And I know where he’s from, in Louisiana, they do nothing but have great backs from there. He reminds me so much of his run skill set of Kamara, of Alvin. He’s very smooth and elusive.”

Smart compared Sampson to Kamara in terms of elusiveness and smoothness. Worst-case, Sampson could work with Kamara and Miller as part of a three-headed rushing attack.

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Fanatics says Commanders Jayden Daniels has the NFL’s top-selling jersey over the past week

Jayden Daniels’ No. 5 jersey is the NFL’s top-selling jersey.

The Washington Commanders have had some good players over the years. But what Washington lacked was a transcendent talent who could sell merchandise and bring in new fans.

Of course, the Commanders needed to win, too, which they haven’t done very often over the years.

Now, Washington has a transcendent talent who is selling jerseys and the team is winning. Fanatics CEO and founder Michael Rubin confirmed on Tuesday that Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had the NFL’s top-selling jersey over the past week.

This coincides with Daniels’ breakout performance on Monday Night Football against the Bengals last week. He followed that with another sensational performance in Sunday’s blowout win over Arizona.

Daniels has already broken numerous records through four weeks, including the highest completion percentage in a four-game stretch in NFL history. Through it all, Daniels continues to put his team first.

On Sunday, Daniels and the Commanders return home for the first time since Week 2. With their recent success, Northwest Stadium may be a bit more difficult to fill up for opposing fans, unlike in past years.

Washington hopes the stadium will be full of burgundy and gold No. 5 jerseys on Sunday and for years to come.

Kool-Aid McKinstry has changed his New Orleans Saints jersey number

Kool-Aid McKinstry changed his Saints jersey number, but let’s hope he doesn’t pick up where Andy Dalton and Tommylee Lewis left off:

https://twitter.com/brandont504/status/1832049665413419275

Have you ever seen a defensive back wearing No. 14? Kool-Aid McKinstry has taken it up and changed his New Orleans Saints jersey number from No. 34, which he wore throughout the summer and preseason games. McKinstry shared a look at his new jersey on his Instagram account (which was boosted by his teammate Tyrann Mathieu) and the change has since been reflected on the Saints’ official team website.

It’s certainly a unique decision. McKinstry wore No. 1 at Alabama but it was taken by Alontae Taylor, so he’s going with No. 14 instead. Maybe he’ll wear it more proudly than other Saints players who came before him — a list that includes names like Andy Dalton, Kawaan Bakeer, Tommylee Lewis, Travin Dural, and a past-his-prime Mark Ingram.

And it isn’t like other options were unavailable. If McKinstry wanted to get out of No. 34, he could’ve taken unclaimed jerseys like Nos. 42, 40, 37, 30, 27, 26, or even No. 2. Instead he’s using the same jersey number as a third-string wide receiver. Hopefully the rookie plays well enough when his number is called to where we don’t have to think about its disappointing history.

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Bo Nix jerseys flying off the shelves after great Broncos preseason debut

Bo Nix jerseys flying off the shelves after the rookie QB’s great Broncos preseason debut

Bo Nix might have been the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he’s already surpassing that value in excitement around the Denver Broncos nation. The rookie quarterback is quickly becoming one of the most popular players in the league, if jersey sales are any indication.

Fanatics released its latest data on top NFL jersey sales. No. 1 is Caleb Williams, the top pick by the Chicago Bears. In second, there’s Bo Nix. He’s ahead of the other rookies QBs selected before him, including J.J. McCarthy, Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr., not to mention all the established players in the league.

Some of the excitement on Nix might be built off a very strong preseason debut for the 24-year-old from Oregon (and Auburn before that). Nix led the Broncos to a 34-30 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the opening preseason weekend.

Nix completed 15 of his 21 pass attempts, netting 125 passing yards and a touchdown.

LOOK: Morgan Wallen takes stage at Arrowhead Stadium in No. 7 jersey with Chiefs stars

Country music star Morgan Wallen was seen on stage at Arrowhead Stadium wearing a No. 7 jersey, flaked by two #Chiefs stars.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been hard at work preparing for the 2024 season during training camp and will get a much-deserved break from workouts tomorrow.

Though the team practiced on Friday, Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce managed to make their way to Arrowhead Stadium for a Morgan Wallen concert this evening ahead of their scheduled time off.

When Wallen took the stage, he was flanked by the prolific duo, and donning a No. 7 jersey that seemed to play well with the crowd in Kansas City.

Though the country music star’s name appeared on the back of the jersey, it seemed to be a nod to Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.

It is unclear whether Mahomes or Kelce shared the stage with Wallen or just took their place in the crowd, but their appearance was sure to have fans in attendance starstruck before the headlining performance took place.

Stay tuned to see if the quarterback or tight ends make any more appearances at Wallen’s concert.

Commanders have still not yet assigned Tress Way a number

Still no new number for Way, which should change soon.

So, I went to the Commanders’ roster Tuesday evening.

After all, the Commanders’ first preseason game is less than one month away when Washington travels to play the Jets on August 10 at 12 p.m.

Training camp begins for the rookies this week, and all the veterans are to report by July 24.

As I was looking through the roster, I noticed the Commanders have still yet to assign a jersey number to their longest-tenured player: punter Tress Way.

Way, as you know, has worn No. 5 his entire time in Washington. The former Oklahoma Sooner went undrafted in 2013. A few days following the draft, the Chicago Bears signed Way. However, the Bears released Way during the preseason. Re-signed at the conclusion of the 2013 season, Way competed and was again released during the preseason in August.

This time, the very next day, the Redskins claimed Way. He came, worked out, and was given No. 5. That was 2014, and Way proceeded to play all ten of his NFL seasons in Washington without missing a single game. He has, therefore, played all 162 of his NFL games wearing the same No. 5

Shortly after drafting quarterback Jayden Daniels (2024), Way chose to give his No. 5 over to the rookie, permitting Daniels to continue to wear it as he did at LSU.

During the spring workouts, Way was spotted on the practice field wearing the same No.10 as former UCLA Bruin receiver/returner Kazmeir Allen. It is worth noting that all other players on the 90-man roster have been assigned a number.

Way has twice led the NFL in average yards per punt during the season. In his first NFL season (2014), Way averaged 47.5 yards for each punt. Then, in 2019, Way again led the NFL with a 49.6-yard average.

Commanders QB Sam Hartman finds a Jayden Daniels jersey while shopping

Sam Hartman poses for picture with Jayden Daniels’ jersey.

Washington Commanders rookie quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Sam Hartman have quickly developed a friendship since the end of the 2024 NFL draft.

Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft, while Hartman signed a priority free-agent deal with the Commanders. After signing Hartman, Washington waived quarterback Jake Fromm.

With veteran Marcus Mariota signed to only a one-year contract, it’s possible Washington general manager Adam Peters views the former Wake Forest and Notre Dame quarterback as the perfect long-term backup to Daniels.

Hartman and Daniels are always together during Washington’s practice, often with one making a joke at the expense of the other. They were among the team’s rookies who recently attended a Washington Nationals game where Daniels threw out the first pitch. When that first pitch didn’t necessarily land in the strike zone, Daniels playfully blamed Hartman.

The team is on vacation until training camp, so players will be back at their respective homes for the next month. But Hartman took to Instagram to show he hadn’t forgotten about Daniels.

Here is Hartman with a Daniels jersey he found in the store:

We aren’t sure if Hartman bought one, but you can bet Daniels’s jersey will eventually be on the NFL’s best-seller list.

 

Antonio Brown vents about Steelers WR Cordarrelle Patterson wearing his old jersey number

The Steelers signed Cordarrelle Patterson in the offseason.

Just when you think you’ve heard the last of former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown talking about his old team, he makes a comeback like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Brown took to social media to vent about new Steelers wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson wearing jersey No. 84. Brown of course doesn’t feel like Patterson has earned the right to wear his old number.

“They ain’t really got the respect for me that I think, or the respect that you think you earned,” Brown said. “That could be trauma in itself to know just like, da*n. I gave my life to the Steelers and these guys don’t even give a sh*t about my body of work. They will just give a random guy who scored kick returns, who never even got 1,000 yards as a receiver ever in his career [my number over] a guy that was number one in history.”

I don’t recall Brown being so upset when wide receiver Rico Bussey wore No. 84 in 2021 and even wide receiver Jamal Custis wore the number briefly in offseason workouts back in 2019. Of course Brown hadn’t completely squandered his career yet so he had other things to hold his attention.

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Mac Jones, Kenny Pickett sold more official merch than Derek Carr did in 2023

Mac Jones and Kenny Pickett were benched and later traded, but the NFLPA says they still sold more licensed merchandise in the last year than Derek Carr:

New Orleans Saints fans haven’t exactly embraced Derek Carr. They’ve kept high standards at quarterback after enjoying so many years of Drew Brees’ excellence, and their hesitance to support Carr after he failed to lead the team to the playoffs may have felt warranted.

That lukewarm reception was backed up by the NFL Players Association annual report on licensed merchandise sales, which didn’t include Carr inn its top 50. Here are the criteria:

The NFLPA Top 50 Player Sales List is the only verified ranking of all officially licensed, NFL player-branded merchandise sold from online and traditional retail outlets as reported by over 85 NFLPA licensees such as Fanatics, Outerstuff, Nike, Fathead, FOCO and Funko. Licensed product categories included trading cards, men’s, women’s and youth game jerseys, T-shirts and hoodies, backpacks, wall decals, pennants, collectible figurines, matted and framed photos, bobbleheads, plush, drinkware, pet products, and many more

While Carr didn’t make the cut, other quarterbacks did — and several of them were benched by the teams they played for last year, traded after the season, or both. Mac Jones was sidelined by the New England Patriots after stumbling to a 2-9 record, and later traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he clocked in at No. 50. Both of the quarterbacks the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired in trades this offseason made the list (Russell Wilson at No. 42, Justin Fields at No. 31), as did their own former first-round quarterback bust Kenny Pickett (No. 34).

So if it felt like there weren’t many Carr jerseys inside the Caesars Superdome last year, you were probably right. Carr needs to do better than what we saw from him last year to win Saints fans over. Another year without reaching the playoffs and on-field chirping with his coaches and teammates won’t convince anyone he’s worth supporting with an autographed photo, refrigerator magnet, or even a trading card. Hopefully he’s up to the challenge.

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How many Commanders were among the NFL leaders in officially licensed merchandise sales?

How many Commanders were among the NFL leaders in officially licensed merchandise sold?

The Washington Commanders weren’t marketable over the past few seasons. Whether it was the multiple name changes, fans hating the current jersey lineup, or the lack of a franchise quarterback, the Commanders weren’t at the top of NFLPA’s leaders in jersey sales.

That could change in 2024. Washington drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall, and many fans have already ordered his jersey. If Daniels takes Washington by storm, which ESPN’s Louis Riddick said he would do, Daniels will be one of the NFL’s top jerseys sold around Christmas.

The NFLPA revealed the year-end top 50 list for all officially licensed NFL player merchandise. This doesn’t mean only jersey sales but all officially licensed merchandise of that player.

Two current Washington Commanders made the list — but only one played for Washington last season.

Linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played for the Seahawks, came in at No. 35. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin was No. 46. Could you imagine the merchandise McLaurin could sell if he had consistent quarterback play?

If the Commanders have a surprise season in 2024, multiple players could be on this list one year from now. Daniels is almost a certainty.