Once the Kirk Cousins signing was announced, Falcons fans immediately took to social media to debate an incredibly important topic — Who will wear #8 in Atlanta?
Kyle Pitts has worn #8 since entering the league, and Kirk Cousins has since joining the Vikings. Pitts tweeted a picture out of him in #84, which he donned in college for the Florida Gators, adding even more speculation to a potential number change.
When he arrived to the Falcons, Cordarrelle Patterson already had #84, leading to Pitts choosing the #8. Cousins reached out to Pitts about wearing it, even offering to donate money to a foundation of his choice, but eventually, it was revealed that Pitts would keep #8 and Cousins would wear #18, but why?
Well, Cousins told Shaquille O’Neal on The Big Podcast with Shaq, that they were going to do it, but the cost of doing so was too unreasonable for both Pitts and Cousins.
“So he wanted to switch numbers anyways. It was like a perfect fit… And then the league spoke into it,” Cousins said. “They’re like, ‘Well, Kyle Pitts has a lot of jerseys that are number 8 with ‘Pitts’ on the back. You would have to buy every single one.’ Both of us would have to just write the check.
“And I was like, ‘Well, what is it?’ It was a big number. And I was like, ‘I don’t want to write that check. I’m good.’ It was several hundred thousand dollars. So I was like, ‘I’m good with 18 and Kyle’s like I’m good with 8.’ So we’re going with 8 and 18.”
The NFL now requires players who change jerseys to compensate for those that are already made with the old numbers, and knowing Cousins’ outward frugality, it was always a longshot it seems.
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