For those who are jersey number purists, the past two years have been riddled with anxiety.
After the NFL opened up wide swaths of numbers in 2021 for essentially all players that don’t go into a 3- or 4-point stance, the Eagles proposed to take things a step further. Why not a Number 0? The owners agreed.
Within minutes of the news of the rules change, the Jaguars posted on Twitter that receiver Calvin Ridley would be the first player to claim a 0. Since then, 20 other players did as well; most of the time the novelty of the number was news (anything to fill the offseason news void), but there were a few that were not made public until training camp.
There are 11 teams that did not have a player claim a 0 jersey number: Bears, Bengals, Bills, Chiefs, Colts, Commanders, Cowboys, Packers, Patriots, Raiders, and Steelers.
Most of the players wearing the 0 are on the defensive side of the ball: 9 linebackers and 6 defensive backs. There are 5 wide receivers and 1 running back who did. No quarterbacks, kickers, or tight ends appear on the opening day rosters with a 0.
Players with number 0, Week 1, 2023
(Note: This is a snapshot list from when the rule officially took effect and will not be updated.)
The list below shows players who, as of opening day, are assigned number 0. All players must are on the active roster (none are on reserve lists or practice squads) as of Sept. 7, 2023 to be included in this list. Notes: *player changed numbers with his existing team, †signed while on season-long suspension in 2022, listed on roster as #18, then “–” after reinstatement, ‡player rejoined his old team; all other players are new to their teams this year.
The table is initially sorted in date order of when the jersey number became public knowledge.
Jeremy Snyder contributed to this report.
