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Former Philadelphia Eagles great Jason Kelce is not a fan of the jersey numbers that defensive players can now wear.
Entering the 2021 season, the NFL expanded the jersey numbers that were available to certain position groups. Kelce yearns for the days when he could look at a jersey number and know which position a guy played.
“I like looking at a jersey and knowing without f—ing knowing the guy what position that guy played. There was something about the number signifying the position you played,” Kelce said during a recent episode of “New Heights.”
“I f—ing hate that the NFL changed the rule for defensive linemen. I used to love these iconic numbers that defensive ends used to wear, linebackers used to wear. Now, I see a (defensive end) and he’s wearing No. 1 or No. 11.
“I shouldn’t be calling out No. 11. He’s a f—ing good player,” Kelce said, referring to Micah Parsons.
Defensive linemen are still restricted to Nos. 50–79 and 90–99, but linebackers who line up on the line of scrimmage were given more options with their jersey numbers. Previously, linebackers were restricted to Nos. 40-59 and 90-99, but now they can wear Nos. 0-59 and 90-99.
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“I’m like f— off. Like, wear No. f—ing 98 or something like that. Like, I’m not into this. If you’re a big body, you’re playing the line of scrimmage, you have a big f—ing number. I don’t want to see this skinny f—ing number bulls—.”
Defensive backs were previously restricted to Nos. 20-49 but now can wear Nos. 0-49.
“I don’t like that now the numbers mean nothing on defense. Anybody can wear whatever the f— they want and then, on offense, you still have ineligible numbers,” Kelce said.
On the offensive side of the ball, quarterbacks are now also allowed to wear No. 0 in addition to Nos. 1-19. Running backs and fullbacks were previously Nos. 20-49 but can now wear Nos. 0-49 and 80-89.
Wide receivers and tight ends are now both allowed to wear Nos. 0-49 and 80-89. Wide receivers and tight ends were limited to Nos. 10-19 and 80-89 and Nos. 40-49 and 80-89, respectively.
Offensive linemen can still only wear Nos. 50-79.
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