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We are firmly into April which means that the NCAA Tournament is wrapping up and The Masters is about to begin. It feels so good to have the sports calendar be what we have all known it to be for all our lives.
As far as the National Football League is concerned, this time of year means that free agency is wrapping up and the NFL Draft is on the horizon. Some players have changed homes which means that equipment managers across the league are prepping things for the new guys’ liking.
Sometimes things change with players who are already on teams, though. This just so happens to be the case with one second-year linebacker on the Dallas Cowboys, one who people want to see play a lot more in his sophomore season with the team.
Linebacker Francis Bernard is changing jersey numbers
We have been talking about jersey numbers a lot as of late, and as someone who loves the tiny details like this I am personally in nirvana.
The Cowboys announced jersey numbers for a majority of their free agency class a few weeks ago and this past week Keanu Neal shared an edit of himself wearing number 42 in the silver and blue. Jayron Kearse was given 42 so it appears that the two of them will have to have a conversation, but it makes sense that Neal might win out.
Numbers in the 40s are hard to pull off in the game of football and whether for that reason or some other one current Cowboy is bidding adieu to his. Linebacker Francis Bernard did a Q&A on his Instagram page on Saturday and noted that he is changing numbers to 53.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Francis Bernard said during an Instagram Q&A that he changed jersey numbers and will now be wearing number 53.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) April 3, 2021
He had previously worn number 44. pic.twitter.com/MTzsYNuA0H
It is possible that you still identify number 53 with linebacker Justin March, but you may have forgotten that March switched himself last season and chose to wear number 59. Bernard had to scratch and claw his way onto the Cowboys roster and when that is the case there aren’t a whole lot of numbers to choose from, now that he has some standing it makes sense that he would go after one he prefers a little bit more.
For what it’s worth Bernard wore number 13 at Utah and that is obviously not a number that linebackers are allowed to wear in the NFL. 53 keeps the second digit there and complies with the position that he plays.
Here’s hoping that number 53 works out well in 2021 and beyond.