NFL teams approved a rule change this offseason that loosened the restrictions on which numbers various position groups are allowed to wear, including expanding the positions that can wear single-digit numbers. And a few Seahawks veterans on the defensive side of the ball are taking advantage, with defensive end Carlos Dunlap II switching to No. 8, safety Quandre Diggs changing to No. 6, and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, a free-agent addition, picking No. 2 after wearing No. 23 both in college and with the 49ers.
In the case of Dunlap and Diggs, both players are switching to the numbers they wore in college. Diggs has never removed the 6 from his social media profiles despite wearing numbers in the 30s during his NFL career, and he expressed enthusiasm for the proposed rule change on those accounts this offseason. Dunlap picked No. 43 after being traded to Seattle last year because his number in Cincinnati, 96, is retired in Seattle for Hall of Fame defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy. He picked that as a nod to his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina's 843 area code.
Dunlap said earlier this offseason before the proposed rule change was approved that he would stick with 43 despite having a few options in the 90s available that weren't in 2020, but also added "I would definitely entertain going back to No. 8" if that became an option.
Aside from rookies, whose numbers were all assigned prior to rookie minicamp, here's a full list of number changes and numbers for new players:
- 2 CB Ahkello Witherspoon
- 6 S Quandre Diggs (from 37)
- 8 DE Carlos Dunlap II (from 43)
- 9 QB Danny Etling (from 2)
- 10 QB Alex McGough (from 6)
- 11 WR Cody Thompson (from 81)
- 23 CB Damarious Randall (from 36)
- 26 S Ryan Neal (from 35)
- 35 CB Pierre Desir
- 36 CB Saivion Smith
- 46 TE Cam Sutton
- 51 DE Kerry Hyder Jr
- 52 DE Darrell Taylor (from 58)
- 58 LB Nate Evans
- 65 G Gabe Jackson
- 70 OT Cedric Ogbuehi (from 74)
- 75 DT Cedrick Lattimore (from 65)
- 81 TE Gerald Everett
- 86 TE Nick Guggemos
- 90 DT Bryan Mone (from 92)
- 92 DT Robert Nkemdiche
- 93 DT Al Woods
- 99 DE Aldon Smith
