Ranking the 23 NFL players who will wear No. 0 this…

Ranking the 23 NFL players who will wear No. 0 this season

From 1925 through 2022, only 19 players in pro football ever wore the jersey No. 0, and most of those players did so in the NFL’s early days — which is where legends like Ox Eckhardt and Wee Willie Smith come from. But now that the NFL has allowed the number for everyone but offensive and defensive linemen (uh, why — the number is cooler the bigger the player is), there will be 23 players sporting the jersey No. 0 in the 2023 season.

The reasons for the number are different for different players. For former Steelers and current Seahawks linebacker Devin Bush, his No. 55 was taken when he came to Seattle, and though he originally preferred No. 11, he gave that to rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“I gave it to the rookie,” Bush said, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “He can have it. And then I found out zero was open and it kind of just fell into my lap and I’m kind of liking it now.”

Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Vikings edge-rusher Marcus Davenport consulted with the boss when he switched teams from the Saints.

“I had a couple options and asked my wife about them,” Davenport said. “It was really between 11 and 0, and she said, ‘Just go be different. Be zero.’ So that’s what it was. For me, it was just part of having a new beginning, you know?”

Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, traded from the Bears last October, echoed the thoughts of a lot of players: Zero reflects a new beginning.

“Before you start with ‘1,’ you start with ‘0.’ I feel like it’s just the start of something,” Smith said, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “This is my first start of a season with the Ravens, and I see no better number that represents that journey to greatness. I want to make a name for myself here. I want my name to be cemented here. So, I’m the first to wear ‘0’ and I want to be the first person to do a lot for this organization.”