Tag: jersey number

Dez Bryant tweets support of CeeDee Lamb rocking the 88

One of the most misunderstood sentiments around the career of Dez Bryant was that he wasn’t a good teammate, but anyone who has really paid attention knows that is far from the case. Bryant was a Dallas Cowboys fan long before he heard his name …

One of the most misunderstood sentiments around the career of Dez Bryant was that he wasn’t a good teammate, but anyone who has really paid attention knows that is far from the case. Bryant was a Dallas Cowboys fan long before he heard his name called during the 2010 NFL draft and his reverence for the star should be unquestioned. His passion is his defining characteristic, and many unfamiliar with witnessing the such don’t fully grasp how that can manifest itself during stressful situations.

This isn’t to say that every Bryant outburst was well-timed or well-received, just that it came from good intentions. Since being away from football, and now working to come back after two years out of the league, Bryant has spent time on social media being highly supportive of other NFL players, so it should come as no surprise he is extending his best wishes to the newest Cowboys receiver, CeeDee Lamb.

Even as Lamb is now going to wear Bryant’s famed jersey, No. 88, there’s nothing but love emanating from Bryant’s Twitter handle.

There should be no shocker there, but part of Bryant’s signing off on the coronation is the realization that with owner Jerry Jones convincing Lamb to don the 88 (the player originally announced he wanted to wear No. 10) is the fact it means Bryant will not be returning to sport it for the Cowboys.

After suffering an achilles injury trying to mount a comeback with the New Orleans Saints in 2018, Bryant spent 2019 out of football. He’s been training with NFL quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott in an effort to catch the eye of an NFL team this offseason, but with the shutdown of football hasn’t had the opportunity to workout for any coaching staffs.

Hopefully when the country opens back up Bryant will have the chance to latch on and further his career until he is ready to walk away from the game on his own terms.

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Crazy 88s: CeeDee Lamb will apparently join Cowboys WR succession after all

Following his selection in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, newest Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb stated that he wanted to wear No. 10 as a professional. After sporting both No. 9 and most recently No. 2 as a member of the Oklahoma …

Following his selection in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, newest Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb stated that he wanted to wear No. 10 as a professional. After sporting both No. 9 and most recently No. 2 as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners, Lamb was prepared to sport the jersey number of the player he is most often compared to, DeAndre Hopkins, who sported it during his tenure with the Houston Texans.

Jerry Jones, however, wanted to dip Lamb in the anointing oil that is held sacred to Cowboys history. Jones suggested following the draft that he’d like Lamb to don the famous No. 88, reserved for those receiving torch bearers who are supposed to carry on the tradiion of the franchise. It appears Jones, despite not being able to have an in-person meeting with Lamb to spin one of his infamous sell jobs, must have been convincing over the phone or Zoom. Lamb jerseys are hitting the market, and they are in line with Dallas tradition.

The Cowboys announced jersey numbers for five of their seven picks earlier in the week, but Lamb was conspicuously absent from the list as things were still up in the air.

88 is the jersey number of the chosen one; the wide receiver anointed as the franchise cross bearer. Drew Pearson was the original 88 and is in the Ring of Honor. That legacy was turned over to Michael Irvin who forged a Hall of Fame career while wearing it.

During a down time for the franchise the club tried to put it on second-round pick Antonio Bryant, but he was just getting the printing press ready for the last first-round receiver Dallas drafted before this year, Dez Bryant.  Bryant is the club’s all-time touchdown reception leader.

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Wil Lutz is open to selling his jersey number to Jameis Winston

New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz is open to selling his jersey number to Jameis Winston, once the free agent ex-Buccaneers QB signs a deal

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Pens have not yet been put to paper on a deal between the New Orleans Saints and free agent quarterback Jameis Winston, but the contract is expected to be finalized soon now that the NFL’s compensatory draft pick cutoff date has passed by.

Whenever Winston does end up signing with the Saints, he’ll face a very important decision: which jersey number to wear. That’s the most important factor in deciding whether a player will thrive or fail in the NFL, and both of Winston’s likely preferences — Nos. 3 and 13 — are each currently occupied by Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz and All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas. He might be able to revert to his college number, having worn No. 5 at Florida State.

However, Winston does have one option: buying his new number from a teammate. And that’s a conversation Lutz is eager to entertaining, joking on Twitter that, “Every man has his price!”

Funny as Lutz’s response may be, it’s a sure bet that some superstitious Saints fans aren’t laughing. Beliefs in the supernatural don’t permeate football as strongly as, say, baseball, but it’s still there if you look for it. Everyone has a pregame ritual (Drew Brees, for example, insists on a plate of beefy mac for dinner the night before kickoffs) and Lutz switching things up with his jersey number could bring some unwelcome energy into the kicking game.

So we’ll be keeping an eye on this situation, taking care to knock on wood when appropriate. The last thing the Saints need in such a critical year is for their golden-booted kicker to lose his mojo.

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It looks like Jerry Jeudy will wear No. 10 with the Broncos

Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy is expected to take Emmanuel Sanders’ old number.

Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy tweeted a Photoshopped image of himself wearing No. 10 on Friday, which seemingly indicates that he plans to wear that number in Denver.

Jeudy will be the first Broncos player to wear No. 10 since former receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who wore the number from 2014-2019. Before Sanders, No. 10 was previously worn by Broncos receiver Jabar Gaffney (2009-2010).

Sanders was a key member of Denver’s offense and helped the team win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season so Jeudy has big shoes to fill.

Jeudy was selected by the Broncos with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft. He was the No. 1 WR on Denver’s draft board.

Jeudy will be the Broncos’ No. 2 wide receiver behind Pro Bowler Courtland Sutton. Jeudy and Sutton will give quarterback Drew Lock two promising young receivers to work with in addition to tight end Noah Fant.

Denver also has two Pro Bowl running backs — Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay — so the offense appears poised for big things in 2020.

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Lamb makes jersey decision after stunning offer from Cowboys

The new Cowboys WR will wear 10 in Dallas, but only after owner Jerry Jones offered him one of the most famous numbers in team history.

CeeDee Lamb knows the expectations are high for him coming to Dallas. But the wideout who just turned 21 years old a few weeks ago was catapulted into another whole eschelon of rarefied air in his first conversation with his new employers at America’s Team.

The Cowboys may have been surprised when Lamb fell to them with the 17th overall pick. What was likely downright jaw-dropping for longtime fans of the team may have been the offer the team made to their new pass-catching prospect.

Lamb announced on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan Thursday night that, after wearing No. 2 in college (and even 9 for a while), he would wear the number 10 as a Cowboy. But Jerry Jones first offered 88, to a player he hadn’t even formally interviewed prior to drafting him.

Dallas doesn’t retire jersey numbers, but 88 is special in Cowboys history. It was Michael Irvin’s number when the team won three Super Bowls. It belonged to Drew Pearson, who hauled in the first-ever Hail Mary touchdown pass from Roger Staubach. Most recently, Dez Bryant wore 88; fans who longed for a reunion with the free agent receiver assumed it would be his if he returned.

Jones offered the vaunted jersey to Lamb, but the owner’s offer may have had less to do with the Cowboys who have worn it than with one of Jones’s college ball connections.

Jones said, according to RJ Ochoa:

“I recently lost a great friend. One of my very best, might have been my best. I played ball with him at Arkansas. He was number 88. His name was Jerry Lamb. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. We couldn’t have won a national championship without him. And he was a wonderful player.

“And so when we were- this is a little drama from our perspective- when we were all sitting there and had said our piece, and then we said, ‘Okay, what’s it going to be?’ I said, ‘In honor of my great friend that just passed this year, we’re going to have his namesake come on here and wear old Number 88. Just like Michael and Dez and those guys.’ And we’ve got us a wide receiver. And let me tell you one thing: if he’s got the competes and heart of that Jerry Lamb, he’ll be bad to the bone.”

Tavon Austin wore No. 10 most recently for the Cowboys, but it’s not a number with much history in Dallas. Maybe Lamb will be the one to start a tradition of excellence with it.

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8 new Broncos players pick their jersey numbers

Eight of the Broncos’ newest players have picked their jersey numbers.

The Denver Broncos announced Tuesday that eight of the team’s new players have picked their jersey numbers. Here’s a quick rundown of the jersey numbers:

P Sam Martin: 5
QB Jeff Driskel: 9
CB A.J. Bouye: 21
RB Melvin Gordon III: 25
LS Jacob Bobenmoyer: 46
OL Graham Glasgow: 61
TE Nick Vannett: 88
DL Jurrell Casey: 99

These numbers, of course, are subject to change.

Martin will wear the number that was worn by QB Joe Flacco in 2019 and was famously worn before that by former Broncos kicker Matt Prater, who Martin played with while with the Detroit Lions.

Bouye will wear No. 21, which was worn by cornerback Aqib Talib when the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Gordon picked No. 25, which was previously worn by fellow Super Bowl champion Chris Harris, who left Denver during free agency.

Vannett is going to wear No. 88, which hasn’t been worn by a Bronco in a regular-season game since Demaryius Thomas was traded. Thomas, by the way, is open to a potential return to Denver for one final season.

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New Broncos TE Nick Vannett will wear Demaryius Thomas’ old number

Nick Vannett will be the first Broncos player to wear Demaryius Thomas’ old number.

New Broncos tight end Nick Vannett will wear jersey No. 88 this season, a number previously worn by wide receiver Demaryius Thomas from 2010-2018.

This will mark the first time since the Broncos traded Thomas mid-way through the 2018 season that a Denver player has worn jersey No. 88 in the regular season.

Before Thomas, tight ends Tony Scheffler (2006-2009) and Jeb Putzier (2002-2005) were No. 88. Thomas and former tight end Riley Odoms (1972-1983) are arguably the most notable payers to have worn No. 88 with the Broncos.

A five-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion, Thomas ranks second on the team’s all-time receiving list in yards (9,055) and touchdowns (60). Rod Smith is the only player in franchise history with better numbers (11,389 yards; 68 touchdowns).

Vannett wore No. 81 at Ohio State and with the Seahawks. He switched to No. 88 with the Steelers last season. Tim Patrick, a wide receiver entering his fourth year in Denver, currently wears jersey No. 81.

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