New Minnesota Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson is the first player to take advantage of the NFL’s relaxed rule on jersey numbers that currently allows defensive backs to wear Nos. 1-49.
On his All Things Covered podcast, Peterson said he’ll be switching from the No. 21 he wore for as long as decade with the Arizona Cardinals to No. 7, the number he wore during his standout collegiate career at LSU and in high school.
“I always wanted to rock No. 7,” Peterson said. “Once they made the change, it was easy for me because 7 has always been my number. I felt like 7 was my number. Like 21 is Deion’s [Sanders] number, you know what I mean? I just felt like in high school and in college, I made 7 known. You can tell. When I went to LSU, guys wanted to wear No. 7 … I felt like that’s my number.”
The number, which recently had a place with Vikings backup quarterback Nate Stanley, holds special meaning for Peterson, who marked a one-year, $10 million agreement with Minnesota a month ago. At the point when he entered the association in 2011, cornerbacks and safeguards were allowed to wear just Nos. 20-49.
Peterson said he planned to wear either No. 24 in honor of Champ Bailey or No. 21, the number made popular by Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, given he needed to pick a twofold digit number when entering the NFL in 2011.
Peterson offered up smart compensation in exchange for Stanley’s No. 7 and will give new shoulder pads to the football team at Stanley’s alma mater, Menomonie High School in Wisconsin.
Since there likely isn’t a lot of stock of inventory of Vikings jerseys with Peterson’s name and previous number, given he signed with the team simply a month prior, the cornerback presumably will not have to shell out big bucks to buy back the inventory from the league’s official distributor, per the new rules if players need to do the switch in front of the 2021 season.
Peterson will be the first non-quarterback or kicker to wear No. 7 in a Vikings uniform.