NFL players can now wear No. 0 (well, not all of them)

Mar 28, 2023 - 11:16 PM

The NFL is having its league owners meeting down in Arizona, and as is standard during this portion of the offseason a host of changes get made to the rulebook, including something as seemingly trivial as uniform numbering.

A couple of seasons ago, the NFL loosened its jersey number restrictions by position to allow safeties such as the Seattle Seahawks’ Quandre Diggs to wear No. 6, as opposed to a number between 20-49. Well now they’re loosening them even more to let most players have the option to be No. 0. This is very important stuff we’re talking about here!

“I don’t think there was any discussion, and we voted. As someone who works for a team, we have real challenges in the number world right now,” Atlanta Falcons CEO Rich McKay said, noting 16-member practice squads in addition to the 53-man roster. (Via ESPN)

“This is one thing that could help us in that challenge, because we do have some players that tend to like the single digit. Numbers are more problematic than they’ve ever been, so this one had very little pushback.”

Kickers and punters are no longer restricted to the 1-19 range like quarterbacks. Henceforth, they can go from 0-49 or from 90-99. Quarterbacks can also don No. 0, and so can literally every other position except the offensive and defensive linemen.

Even if the NFL brought back No. 00 in a throwback Oakland Raiders legend Jim Otto, he couldn’t wear it since he’s a center. The OL is still limited to 50-79, while the DL gets 50-79 and 90-99. Linebackers are restricted to 0-59 and 90-99.

Glad this could all be cleared up! Will we see any notable Seahawks players flipping to 0 any time soon?