KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the offseason roster turnover from 91 players down to 53 takes shape and the 17-player practice squad takes shape, it’s time for the annual roster number shuffle as newcomers to the team gravitate toward newly freed numbers and players who status on the roster changes see the digits on their jersey change.
For example, punter Matt Araiza was assigned No. 49 when he arrived in Kansas City. He’s now wearing No. 14, a number that was previously worn by wide receiver Cornell Powell.
Meanwhile, defensive end Cameron Thomas, who arrived in Kansas City via a trade with Arizona last week, took No. 99 — a number he wore in college at San Diego State. Defensive tackle Fabien Lovett had been wearing No. 99 during training camp until he was placed on waivers. After returning to the Chiefs practice squad — and No. 99 gone to Thomas — Lovett took over No. 96.
Here’s the list of new numbers assigned on the Chiefs roster during the last week:
- No. 9 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
- No. 14 P Matt Araiza
- No. 34 RB Samaje Perine
- No. 88 TE Peyton Hendershot
- No. 99 DE Cameron Thomas
Smith-Schuster wore No. 9 at USC and during his first stint with the Chiefs. Araiza wore No. 2 (Joshua Williams at San Diego State and No. 10 (Isiah Pacheco) in high school. Perine has worn No. 34 for the plurality of his NFL career, with the eighth-year veteran wearing the number during his three seasons in Cincinnati. Hendershot wore No. 49 and 89 in Dallas as well as No. 86 in college at Indiana.
Practice squad number changes include:
- No. 19 QB Bailey Zappe
- No. 40 RB Emani Bailey
- No. 92 DT Marlon Tuipulotu
- No. 96 DT Fabien Lovett
Zappe wore No. 4 during his college career and in New England, which is currently assigned to receiver Rashee Rice. Bailey wore No. 39 during training camp, a numeral he shared with veteran cornerback Keith Taylor. With Taylor keeping No. 39, Bailey bumped up his jersey number by one. Tuipulotu wore No. 72 (Chukwuebuka Godrick) and No. 95 (Chris Jones) in Philadelphia and No. 51 (Mike Danna) in high school and at USC.
One might ask why Lovett did not choose to wear No. 0, which he wore at Florida State. The NFL voted to allow players to wear in March 2023. No Kansas City player has ever worn No. 0, however, and the reason why might surprise you. Chiefs chairman/CEO Clark Hunt is not a fan of the No. 0, and the club is unlikely to issue that jersey number anytime soon, a close familiar with the situation tells Chiefs Digest.
Also unfortunately for Lovett — any NFL player can wear No. 0 other than offensive and defensive linemen.
