Eagles officially announce jersey numbers for their free agency signings

The Philadelphia Eagles made us wait until May to officially reveal the jersey numbers of their free agent acquisitions last year. Thankfully they won’t be doing the same thing in 2020. The team announced new jersey numbers via their official Twitter account.

SIGNINGS/TRADE ACQUISITIONS

CB Darius Slay - 24

CB Nickell Robey-Coleman - 31

S Will Parks - 28

CB Trevor Williams - 41

LB Jatavis Brown - 53

DT Javon Hargrave - 93

CHANGES

CB Jalen Mills - 21 (formerly 31)

VERY IMPORTANT THOUGHTS

• We already heard Slay say he’s wearing No. 24 in honor of his favorite athlete and Philly native, Kobe Bryant (RIP). Slay wore No. 23 with the Detroit Lions. The last two Eagles corners to wear No. 24 were ... Bradley Fletcher and Nnamdi Asomugha.
• NRC has worn No. 37, No. 21, and No. 23 during his NFL career. He was No. 21 at USC. No. 21 was open with Ronald Darby leaving but Mills seemingly got first dibs on that. NRC got Mills’ old number in No. 31.
• Parks couldn’t wear the No. 34 he wore with the Denver Broncos since it’s already taken by Cre’Von LeBlanc. Strap said he would give up his number to Parks if he could get No. 25 ... but the Eagles haven’t that out since LeSean McCoy was traded in 2015. Parks is the first Eagles safety to wear No. 28 since Earl Wolff. Jay Ajayi wore No. 28 for his brief 2019 stint in Philly.
• Who is Trevor Williams, you might ask? The Penn State alumnus is a cornerback with starting experience that the Eagles signed to a futures contract in January. Interesting dark horse roster candidate.
• Brown wore No. 57 with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers but that’s taken by T.J. Edwards in Philly. Brown getting No. 53 seems to confirm that the Eagles aren’t keeping the door open for a Nigel Bradham return. The team has previously kept jersey numbers open for free agents that might return (Corey Graham, Stefen Wisniewski, Darren Sproles) in past years. Bradham’s old No. 53 is no longer being reserved.
• Hargrave’s options were limited since Malik Jackson has his college number (No. 97) and Brandon Brooks has his NFL number (No. 79). Hargrave is taking Timmy Jernigan’s old No. 93.
• Mills going with a new number for a new position is a worthwhile change.
• The next mass Eagles jersey number update we’ll get should come a week or two after the 2020 NFL Draft.