Bengals free agent signing's new number is quite the coincidence
After 55 years of Cincinnati Bengals football, the franchise has only retired one number. The 54 jersey, originally donned by the team's first-ever draft pick Bob Johnson, will never be worn again by a Bengals player unless the club expires the retirement. Only the Carolina Panthers, who've existed for about half as long as the […]
After 55 years of Cincinnati Bengals football, the franchise has only retired one number.
The 54 jersey, originally donned by the team's first-ever draft pick Bob Johnson, will never be worn again by a Bengals player unless the club expires the retirement. Only the Carolina Panthers, who've existed for about half as long as the Bengals, also have just one retired number.
With essentially the entire number range from 1-99 up for grabs every year, Bengals players have their choice of any number possible. And as seen with recent free agent signee Sidney Jones, this can lead to funny repeats.
As Twitter user Jacob Adams points out, Jones rocking the No. 24 jersey will give Bengals fans flashbacks to former No. 24 Adam "Pacman" Jones playing cornerback for the Orange and Black.
Same name, position, and number. What's funnier is the currently-playing Jones never wore this number in college or the NFL before.
Pacman's No. 24 has been worn most recently by Vonn Bell, who recently signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers. Darius Phillips sported the number for a season in 2019, and was the first player to wear it after him.
A sixth-year player and former second-round pick, Jones signed a one-year deal with no guaranteed money included. The Bengals can release him at any point in the year with no cap penalty against them, but they'll give Jones a chance to not only make the roster, but push for playing time early in the season.
Chidobe Awuzie, now months removed from a torn ACL, will be pushing to return before the season starts, but his comeback is not a guarantee. The window is open for another to take starting reps throughout training camp, the preseason, and maybe even the first few weeks of the regular season.
Cincinnati will look to add an early-round rookie to potentially fill that role, but don't discount Jones from taking hold of Awuzie's spot for the time-being.
So if you still have a Pacman Jones Bengals jersey, and didn't already changed the nameplate to Bell, Sidney Jones has gifted you a chance to make it a relevant garment once more!
