This past offseason, the National Football League - much to the chagrin of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady - elected to ease some of the restrictions on what numbers players are able to wear based on the position they play.
Perhaps the most notable change has been that you no longer have to be a quarterback, kicker or punter to wear a single-digit number.
It's been relatively easy to get used to some players wearing single-digit numbers. Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith wears No. 6, the same number that he donned at the University of Alabama a year ago when he won the Heisman Trophy. Even Leonard Fournette switching from No. 28 to No. 7 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been pretty simple to process, because it's the number that he wore at LSU.
With that said, there's quite a few players who are now wearing single-digit numbers, and frankly, it hasn't been aesthetically pleasing:
Julio Jones: No. 2
Julio JonesSilas Walker - Getty ImagesIt's been hard enough to get used to Jones playing for a team other than the Atlanta Falcons, but a potential future Hall of Famer going from No. 11 to No. 2 with the Tennessee Titans has been especially difficult to adjust to. It's even more of a notable switch because Jones wore No. 82 in high school and No. 8 at Alabama. To his credit, Jones had six catches for 128 yards in the Titans' overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. If he continues to perform like that, perhaps him wearing No. 2 won't be so jarring.
Jalen Ramsey: No. 5
Jalen RamseyHarry How - Getty ImagesFor the first five years of his NFL career - which were split between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams - Ramsey wore No. 20, establishing himself as one of the most dominant cornerbacks in recent memory. In 2021, the two-time All-Pro has switched to No. 5, even though he wore No. 7 in high school and No. 8 at Florida State.
Darius Slay: No. 2
Darius SlayMitchell Leff - Getty ImagesSlay wasn't especially associated with a specific number - he wore No. 30 in his rookie season with the Detroit Lions, before switching to No. 23 for the next six seasons. In 2020, Slay wore No. 24 during his first campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles. The reason him switching to No. 2 has been difficult to adjust to is that quarterback Jalen Hurts (now No. 1) wore the number just a year ago. David Akers, the leading scorer in Eagles history, also wore No. 2.
Emmanuel Sanders: No. 1
Emmanuel SandersMichael Reaves - Getty ImagesSanders began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while spending parts of the last two years with the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints. Still, we got so used to the two-time Pro Bowler wearing No. 10 for the Denver Broncos. The 34-year-old is now part of a loaded group of pass catchers in Buffalo, which is even harder to adjust to given that he's wearing No. 1 for the Bills.
Robert Woods: No. 2
Robert WoodsHarry How - Getty ImagesLike his Rams teammate, Woods has changed numbers in 2021, and it hasn't been easy to get used to. This is despite having worn No. 17 for his first four seasons in Los Angeles, a period in which he caught 322 passes for over 4,000 yards. The fact that he's a returning captain and has changed his number also factors in. To be fair, Woods wore No. 2 at USC, so there may be some Rams fans quite used to seeing him don that number.
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