One of the fun things for a new NFL player to do is find out which number he’s going to wear. A number can be iconic. In San Diego, everybody knows who 55 is (if you don’t you’re probably not reading this football story anyway).
The 2017 rookie class for the Los Angeles Chargers of Carson was on the practice field in Mission Valley for a mini-camp (because this is the world we live in). The Bolts will not move full-time to their Orange County facility until training camp in July.
We got to see a few of the new numbers on the new guys. Defensive backs Rayshawn Jenkins (#33) and Desmond King (#36) were both working mostly at safety. Offensive linemen, Sam Tevi took #69 while Dan Feeney grabbed #66. Their second round pick, offensive lineman Forrest Lamp, wore #76 at Western Kentucky but will be #77 in the NFL.
“(Russell) Okung has 76 so I can’t take a vet’s number,” said Lamp. “So I just went one up. My freshman year at Western Kentucky I wore 77 because a senior had 76.”
But the first round pick, wide receiver Mike Williams, was wearing #7 at camp. That’s not the number he is going to wear during the regular season. The NFL has rules for which positions can wear which numbers. Wide receivers must be from 10-19 or from 80-89. Williams is partial to #7 but knows he has to change.
“The numbers that were available? I didn’t want those,” said Williams, who is still in the decision-making process. “I’m waiting out my options to see what opens up.”
Williams wore #7 in high school and at Clemson, then was the 7th overall pick in the NFL Draft. It would be easy to just throw a “1” in front of the “7” … but there’s a sizeable road block to that number with the Chargers. The #17 is owned by franchise quarterback Philip Rivers.
Sometimes a player will negotiate with someone who has his number on a current roster. Williams said he’s not even going to try something like that with 17.
“Oh, no. I most definitely can’t get that,” said Williams. “That’s not happening.”
Williams says he wants to stay in the teens and as it stands now #14 is available. There’s even some symbolism there. If he can be twice the player he was in college, just put him in the Hall of Fame right now.
