Derrick Barnes did not get to pick his jersey number as a freshman at Purdue.
When Barnes arrived on campus as a two-star linebacker from Kentucky, he was given No. 55 by his coaches.
“I wanted a lower number for some reason,” said Barnes, who wore No. 21 in high school. “But he was just, Junior Seau, just bringing all these names that had 55 and that’s what I consider myself is a good linebacker so I want to carry that number.”
A fourth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in this year’s NFL draft, Barnes will wear No. 55 this fall both as a nod to Seau and his past.
Lions coach Dan Campbell complimented Barnes’ choice of number in a SiriusXM NFL radio interview last week, noting, “He wants to be No. 55. I mean, how throwback is 55 for an inside ‘backer?”
And in the first year of the NFL’s relaxed jersey rules, Barnes’ number stands out for its normalcy.
NFL players have long been assigned jerseys within a range of numbers by position. Offensive linemen wore something in the 50s, 60s or 70s. Quarterbacks, kickers and punters had their choice of jersey Nos. 1-19. Wide receivers wore a number in the 80s or low double-digits, 10-19.
In April, NFL owners approved a proposal by the Kansas City Chiefs to modify jersey restrictions, giving players at most positions a larger pool of numbers to pick from.
Running backs, receivers and tight ends can now wear numbers 1-49 and 80-89. Defensive backs can wear single digits — former Lions cornerback Darius Slay, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, has changed to No. 2. And linebackers like Barnes can wears Nos. 1-59 and 90-99.
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Barnes, who hypes himself up before games by watching highlight videos of Seau and Ray Lewis (one of the most famous No. 52s), said No. 55 feels right to him.
“For me, playing linebacker, it’s being physical, so watching other people be physical, especially guys you’re looking up to it just pumps me up,” he said. “Just the old souls, people are talking about winning and accomplishing things, kind of drives me. It drives me all the time, so I just appreciate the guidance from Ray Lewis and in spirit, cause I never met him in person, but I just appreciate his game.”
The Lions currently have just one player assigned a single-digit jersey for the 2021 season, punter Jack Fox (No. 3), though they have not announced uniform numbers for most of their spring free agent signings.
Draft picks Amon-Ra St. Brown (No. 14), Jermar Jefferson (No. 28), Ifeatu Melifonwu (No. 26), Levi Onwuzurike (No. 75) and Alim McNeill (No. 54) mostly wore traditional numbers at last week’s rookie minicamp, though McNeill’s No. 54 stood out for its uniqueness among defensive linemen.
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Before this year, defensive linemen had to wear numbers in the 70s or 90s, with jerseys in the 60s allowed as alternates. Now, numbers in the 50s are open to linemen as well.
A 330-pound nose tackle who wore No. 29 in college, a number typically reserved for smaller running backs and defense backs, McNeill said he took the lowest jersey number he could get in Detroit.
“I would have 100% kept (my college number) if I could,” he said. “I’m going to see if I can create my own rule for that. But 54 was just, it was the lowest number out of the options I was given so I chose 54.”
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Onwuzurike, who wore No. 95 in college — a number already taken in Detroit by Romeo Okwara — said he wasn’t picky about his number, though like McNeill, he was drawn to lower numbers in the past.
“For me, I don’t care,” Onwuzurike said. “It’s whatever. I wore 95 in college, so that kind of stuck, but I could wear anything. My childhood number was No. 9, so if I could get No. 9 that’d be the one I want. Obviously, I can’t get that so I’ll get any number.”
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The appeal of a lower number to big men is twofold, McNeill said.
“It makes me feel like a skill player again. I feel lighter on my feet when I got a low number,” he said, adding, “It looks good, too.”
Barnes, though, had something other than vanity in mind when he picked his No. 55.
“Made my legacy at Purdue with that number,” he said. “And I want to do the same thing at the next level.”
Briefly
The Lions signed cornerback Alex Brown, who took part in last week’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. Previously, the Lions signed tryout players safety Alijah Holder and tight end Charlie Taumoepeau. Brown signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and spent parts of the last two seasons with three other teams.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.