Why is QB Mac Jones carrying the quantity 50 throughout the Patriots coaching camp?

Nothing annoys NFL fans more than seeing which jersey numbers their favorite players wear each season. In the case of Mac Jones, however, his number can run into some confusion.

During the Patriots’ training camp, Jones – New England’s 15th overall selection – wore a rather unusual number. The former Alabama quarterback wears the number 50, which is unusual for a quarterback, even at training camp.

Why does Jones wear such a high number? And will that change before his preseason debut on Thursday against the Washington Football Team? Here’s everything you need to know about Jones’ jersey situation ahead of the 2021 NFL preseason and regular season.

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Why is Mac Jones wearing the number 50 during Patriots training camp?

Jones wears the # 50 jersey as part of a Patriots training camp tradition. As explained by AL.com, Bill Belichick and his staff assign the No. 50 jersey to the first rookie selected in the draft each year. The second selected rookie wears the # 51 jersey and so on. This process will continue until all drafted rookies have jersey numbers. Exceptions to this rule are jerseys # 56 and # 57: # 56 has not been worn since Andre Tippett’s resignation in 1993, while jersey 57 has been withdrawn in honor of Steve Nelson.

Following this procedure, the undrafted rookies are assigned the remaining numbers in alphabetical order.

These are the numbers each of the Patriots’ eight drafted rookies will wear during training camp:

Jersey number player position
50 Mac Jones Quarterback
51 Christian Barmore Defensive tackle
52 Ronnie Perkins Edge rusher
53 Rhammondre Stevenson Back race
54 Cameron McGrone Linebacker
55 Joshua Bledsoe security
58 William Sherman Offensive tackle
59 Tre Nixon Broad receiver

As strange as it is to see a quarterback in jersey # 50, it goes without saying in the Patriots camp. And this number will certainly not belong to Jones for long.

Will Mac Jones wear the number 50 during preseason?

Jones will no longer wear the number 50 once the 2021 NFL preseason kicks off. At this point, he must wear one of the numbers within the specified range for quarterbacks, which is 1-19. So he won’t be number 50 until the beginning of the training camp.

2021 STANDARD FANTASY RANKING:
Quarterback | Run back | Wide-angle receiver | Narrow end | D / ST | Kicker | Highest 200

What number will Mac Jones wear in the 2021 season?

As mentioned earlier, Jones will have the option of any number 1-19 during the 2021 NFL season. However, 13 Patriots players have already claimed jersey numbers within this designation. They are as follows:

Jersey number player position
1 Newton cams Quarterback
2 Jalen Mills Defensive back
4th Jarrett Stidham Quarterback
5 Brian Hoyer Quarterback
6th Nick Folk Kicker
7th Jake Bailey Gambler
8th Yes’Whaun Bentley Linebacker
9 Matthew Judon Edge rusher
13th Nelson Agholor Broad receiver
fifteen N’Keal Harry Broad receiver
17th Kristian Wilkerson Broad receiver
18th Matthew Slater Broad receiver
19th Isaiah Zuber Broad receiver

So that gives Jones a choice of 3, 10, 11, 12, 14 or 16 for his jersey. We can almost certainly eliminate the number 12 jersey, however, considering that Tom Brady wore that number during his time with the Patriots.

So 3, 10, 11, 14, or 16 are Jones’ likely options. Jones wore the # 10 jersey during his time in Alabama, so it would be no surprise to see him with the Patriots as well.

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