The San Francisco 49ers welcomed players back for the offseason workout program, and that means new uniform numbers were handed out. The team posted new numbers on the roster page.
The most notable numbers are probably 7 and 94. Colin Kaepernick used to wear No. 7, but it has been assigned to Matt Barkley. Barkley wore the number when he was starting at USC.
Dekoda Watson has No. 94, which once belonged to Justin Smith. This is the first time the number has been issued since Smith retired following the 2014 season. I don’t think we’ll see Smith get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I’m curious if he is honored in any way by the 49ers. Maybe they don’t retire his number, but maybe he gets a nod in the 49ers Hall of Fame?
Eli Harold has changed his number. He was 58, but he switched to 57, as new offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah received 58. I wonder if Zuttah made a financial offer for 57?
And of course, running back Tim Hightower gets No. 26. He had preliminarily been assigned No. 21, but that got cleared up real quick. The new equipment manager appears to have made the mistake in giving him Gore’s number. Hightower stated it was just assigned and should be retired, and by the end of the day, his number had changed.
The 49ers will add a new group of players in two weeks when they draft and sign a group of rookies. They will fill out their 90-man roster with their draft picks and undrafted free agents. The 49ers have 12 retired numbers, so that means some of the remaining numbers will be doubled up. Usually a pair of rookies will split a number, although some of the team’s current lesser known players might split numbers as well. An offensive player gets one version, a defensive player gets the other version.
Here’s the full list of new numbers.
QB Brian Hoyer: 2
WR DeAndre Carter: 4
QB Matt Barkley: 7
K Robbie Gould: 9
WR Marquise Goodwin: 11
WR Pierre Garçon: 15
WR Aldrick Robinson: 19
DB Don Jones: 20
DB K’Waun Williams: 24
RB Tim Hightower: 26
FB Kyle Juszczyk: 44
LB Jayson DiManche: 49
LB Brock Coyle: 50
LB Malcolm Smith: 51
LB Eli Harold: 57
OL Jeremy Zuttah: 58
WR Rashad Ross: 81
TE Logan Paulsen: 82
DL Earl Mitchell: 90
LB Dekoda Watson: 94
DL Zach Moore: 96