Allen Park — Since being drafted by the Detroit Lions in April, cornerback Jeff Okudah has temporarily worn the No. 1 jersey he donned at Ohio State. But that was always going to change.
The NFL has strict uniform restrictions, which require players to wear numbers within a specific range depending on their position. On Tuesday, the Lions announced new numbers for Okudah, second-round pick D’Andre Swift, recently signed running back Adrian Peterson and a number of other players.
Okudah will wear No. 30 going forward. The number was previously worn by cornerback Dee Virgin, who is currently on the practice squad and switches to No. 36.
Interestingly, former Lions cornerback Darius Slay also wore No. 30 as a rookie, prior to switching to his more well-known No. 23 after the franchise parted ways with Chris Houston. Okudah effectively replaced Slay on the roster this offseason.
Swift, who had also been wearing an ineligible number through training camp (No. 6), flips to No. 32. That was Jayron Kearse’s number, but the suspended safety is switching to No. 42.
The only other draft pick from this year’s class to get a new number is defensive end Julian Okwara, who goes from No. 45 to No. 99 in your program.
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As for Peterson, who was signed earlier this week, he gets No. 28. That’s the number he wore the first 10 seasons of his career in Minnesota. He had sported No. 26 the past two seasons in Washington.
Four other Lions practice squad players also changed numbers on Tuesday. Running back Jonathan Williams will now wear No. 41, safety Jalen Elliott No. 42, long snapper Steve Wirtel No. 54 and defensive end Jonathan Wynn goes back to the No. 69 he wore last year.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers