Patriots Finally Give Real Jersey Numbers To Rookies; Sony Michel Gets No. 29
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- All summer long, Bill Belichick has stuck rookies with some ugly jersey numbers in the 50s and 60s, assigned in order of when the players were drafted or signed.
But now, finally, with the preseason set to begin, those rookies have been given some real jersey numbers.
The team announced these jersey numbers in a creative way, with a video on Twitter. You can check it out below, with the players listed underneath the video:
QB Danny Etling, No. 5
P Corey Bojorquez, No. 7
WR Braxton Berrios, No. 14
RB Ralph Webb, No. 22
RB Sony Michel, No. 29
CB A.J. Moore, No. 33
CB J.C. Jackson, No. 34
CB Keion Crossen, No. 35
CB Duke Dawson, No. 42
LB Christian Sam, No. 44
DL Trent Harris, No. 45
LB Ja'Whaun Bentley, No. 51
OL Isaiah Wynn, No. 76
TE Ryan Izzo, No. 85
DL Frank Herron, No. 92
DL John Atkins, No. 97
The assignment of No. 29 to first-round running back Sony Michel is probably the most newsworthy of the numbers. He wore No. 1 during his time at Georgia, but NFL rules don't allow running backs to wear single digit numbers.
Wynn, who was Michel's college teammate, wore No. 77 in college. But that number belongs to Trent Brown in New England, so Wynn will go with 76 (which was worn by Sebastian Vollmer from 2009-15).
The numbers need not be considered permanent. Linebacker Dont'a Hightower wore No. 45 during his rookie preseason in 2012.
He only took No. 54 after the team recognized that guard Brian Waters would not be reporting for duty.
Running back Shane Vereen also wore No. 29 during his rookie preseason.
Vereen got No. 34 -- which was his collegiate number at Cal -- after Sammy Morris was cut.
Speaking of No. 34, J.C. Jackson is unlikely to keep it if he makes the team, as the number currently belongs to running back Rex Burkhead. The same goes for Keion Crossen's No. 35 (Mike Gillislee), Ralph Webb's No. 22 (Jomal Wiltz), and A.J. Moore's No. 33 (Jeremy Hill).
