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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Robert Zeglinski

Teddy Bridgewater will wear No. 50 for the Lions in preseason and now fans want jersey number chaos

Teddy Bridgewater NFL

In the NFL, even with No. 0 shifts in rules for other positions, quarterbacks can still only wear numbers 1-19 on their jerseys. This made matters kinda awkward for Teddy Bridgewater when the Detroit Lions recently signed him to be Jared Goff’s backup.

By virtue of Bridgewater joining Detroit in the middle of the preseason and training camp, every number from 1-19 was already taken. With preseason cuts on the horizon later this month, it shouldn’t be a problem that lasts long. Eventually, Bridgewater will be assigned a regular-season number. He will have no choice but to wear a traditional QB number, actually.

But in the preseason, it doesn’t matter what the veteran wears. So Bridgewater will don No. 50 — like a linebacker or edge rusher — for the time being.

Naturally, given the loosened rules for Bridgewater in the preseason, this sparks a somewhat relevant discussion: Should quarterback jersey numbers also see an expansion? And should they be able to wear traditional defender and lineman numbers?

I’m of the opinion that there’s something aesthetically pleasing about watching the faces of the sport wear iconic numbers like No. 1, No. 15, and No. 17. But I could certainly understand why football fans would like to see the game grow a little more silly by giving quarterbacks more options.

It is, after all, just a game.

I don’t personally like the idea, but Bridgewater might have opened Pandora’s Box anyway.

This was how Twitter reacted

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