Prior to kicking off the 2021 preseason against the Washington Football Team, the Patriots revealed some new numbers for their rookie class. As has become a tradition in New England, rookies spend the offseason and initial weeks of training camp in a range of numbers that start at 50 and go up, roughly in order of their selection in the draft.
At the top of the list will be quarterback Mac Jones, who will ditch no. 50 for the number he wore in high school and college, no. 10. Here's the full list of new numbers, with the caveat that they could again change as the roster is cut down over the next few weeks and more numbers become available.
- Mac Jones - 10: Worn by Damiere Byrd in 2020, Josh Gordon in 2018-2019, and Jimmy Garoppolo for his first three seasons.
- Christian Barmore - 70: Last worn by Adam Butler and Logan Mankins before him.
- Ronnie Perkins - 51: Vacated by Ja'Whaun Bentley as he moved to no. 8 this season, there's plenty of linebacker history in this number.
- Rhamondre Stevenson - 38: Last worn by Brandon Bolden and still currently being worn by cornerback Dee Virgin. Bolden switched to 25 this season to honor his grandfather.
- Cameron McGrone - 45: Hasn't been worn in a game since David Harris in 2017.
- Joshuah Bledsoe - 34: Most often a running back number, Rex Burkhead wore 34 from 2017-2020.
- Will Sherman - 68: Last worn for multiple seasons by LaAdrian Waddle, 2015-2018.
- Tre Nixon - 87: Yes, it was last worn by Rob Gronkowski, but even with the new number rules Nixon's choices were limited to 11, 12, 82 or 87.
- Quinn Nordin - 3: No introduction needed for a kicker wearing this number, Stephen Gostkowski occupied it from 2006-2019.
As a reminder, retired numbers in New England include 20, 40, 57, 73, 78, 79 and 89. Andre Tippett's 56 also has not been re-issued as well since his retirement in 1993. Looking for a fun way to kill some time until kick-off tonight? Check out Pro Football Reference's Patriots number history page!
