Here’s a cool scoop: WDSU’s Fletcher Mackel reports that New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi has chosen the newly-approved No. 0 jersey, having signed with the team as a free agent earlier this offseason. It’s been a good year for Amadi, who got his hands on that coveted new number just months after he helped the Kansas City Chiefs win a Super Bowl championship while coming off their practice squad.
The NFL recently made the number available for defensive backs, linebackers, quarterbacks, punters, kickers, running backs, fullbacks, tight ends, and wide receivers.
That’s probably going to disappoint some of his rookie teammates who wore the number in college, like Vanderbilt linebacker Anfernee Orji, but veterans often get priority. If Orji (or anyone else) wants to take the number for his own he’ll need to prove he’s more deserving of a roster spot in training camp this summer. Amadi wore Nos. 14 and 7 in college while using Nos. 28, 32, 38, and 39 (which he was previously listed in on the Saints’ roster) in the NFL, so this is a new development for him.
But he isn’t the first player to wear No. 0 in team history. Back before the NFL more tightly regulated jersey number designations and made it unavailable, defensive back Obert Logan used No. 0 in the Saints’ inaugural 1967 season; in 1970, wide receiver Ken “Double Zero” Burrough wore No. 00, which is no longer available.
We’ll see if Amadi hangs onto this number or if it ends up in other hands by September. He’s one of several defensive backs the Saints have brought in to push second-year pro Smoke Monday for a roster spot, along with Lonnie Johnson Jr., Isaac Yiadom, Johnathan Abram, as well as rookie draft pick Jordan Howden (Minnesota) and undrafted free agent pickup Anthony Johnson (Virginia).
