The NFL Has Altered Its Jersey Number Rules Again

Colts Kicker Jim O'Brien (#80) nailing a 32-yard field goal to win Super Bowl V for the Baltimore Colts.

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I'm not much of a college football guy anymore for a multitude of reasons, but one part of the collegiate game I always liked was the looseness of the jersey number restrictions. You could see a 358-pound nose tackle rocking #2 or a punter who's #93. It's kind of funny looking and a quirk you'd only see in high school or college ball.

Former LSU Punter #38 Brad Wing.

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Recently, the NFL opened up the floodgates for who can wear what. While Tom Brady didn't like it, I'd say the move has been favorable overall. We've got defensive backs covering wide receivers with the same jersey number. Some secondaries are made up entirely of single digits. I like it. I understand why the rules exist for eligible vs. ineligible receivers, but as people realize life is more fluid and players get more versatile, the number restrictions seem silly. As long as QBs are 0-19 and we know who is and isn't a lineman (even though you can declare yourself eligible), I say go crazy.

Under the new rules, not only can all players except linemen rock #0, but now punters and kickers will look a lot different (maybe! who knows who'll change their number?)

Here’s the full proposal that owners approved, allowing any player to wear Number Zero except offensive and defensive linemen.

Also, punters and placekickers can now wear numbers 0-49 and 90-99. CC: @PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/7cqNoUBN1G

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 28, 2023

I'm sure some people who aren't emotionally intelligent will get their panties in a bunch over the new rule, but I fw it. It is fun, spices shit up, and gives players more options to express themselves in a way that doesn't hurt a fly or their frontal lobe. Plus, I feel like you're way more likely to sell a #42 or #95 punter jersey over #17. Idk why; I just do. It's more swaggy.