Back in 2021, Tom Brady criticized the then-implemented jersey number change and called it a “stupid rule.” Now, in 2023, Patrick Mahomes shared his concerns about the exact change, agreeing with what Brady said two years ago in 2021. Check out the complete story right here:
What is the Jersey Number Change and Patrick Mahomes’s recent take on it?
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In 2021, the NFL implemented a change in the jersey number, which, to everyone’s surprise, was brought up by the team Patrick Mahomes played for. The Chiefs proposed that the facility to expand the jersey number should be an option for only certain positions.
The major objective behind this change was to allow defensive backs, linebackers, fullbacks, tight ends, wide receivers, and running backs to wear the single-digit numbers. The proposed idea was passed by the NFL, and the change was implemented in no time.
In November 2023, Patrick Mahomes shared his take on this implemented change in jersey numbers during an episode of ManningCast. The star quarterback took Tom Brady’s side in reference to what he said back in 2021 when this rule came into action.
“[Reading a defense is] even crazier now because everybody can wear the single digits,” said the Chiefs quarterback.
“We really emphasize the numbers because when you’ve got a number like No. 7 playing middle linebacker, that can really mess with your tells for the O-linemen,” added Patrick Mahomes.
But that’s the same thing that Tom Brady said in 2021.
What were Tom Brady’s views on the changed jersey number rule in 2021?
In a conversation with Tampa Bay reporters in 2021, Tom Brady shared his exclusive opinion on how he felt about the jersey number restrictions.
“I don’t want to get into it, I’ve already talked at nauseam about it, other than that I think it’s a stupid rule,” Tom Brady said.
“I have already talked at nauseam about it” is a reference to the interview he had with the Tampa Bay Times’s reporter Rick Stroud.
In conversation with Rick Stroud, the interview took place in early September of 2021, in which Brady went ahead and shared his unfiltered opinion about the rule.
“The number rule is crazy. Literally, guys changed their numbers today. I’m playing two guys who had different numbers in the preseason,” Tom Brady said regarding the changed number update.
“So one guy has got a 6, one guy has 11, one guy has got a 9. And they change every play when you break your routes and get to your spot. It’s going to be a very challenging thing,” Brady explained.
Two years later, Patrick Mahomes said the same thing in conversation with Peyton Manning and Eli Manning on the ManningCast.
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“You get these guys who rotate in, and you’ll get a DB who’s in the 40s and a linebacker in single digits,” Patrick said in last week’s ManningCast episode.
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes definitely have a point here, and the overall play of quarterbacks has undoubtedly been affected in the last two years. However, most new rules in the NFL also affect defenses as well.
Therefore, it balances the scale regarding the effect the new rule changes in the NFL have on players. Do you agree with what Brady and Mahomes said about this rule change?
