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Patriots Reportedly Voted Against New Jersey Number Rule; Bill Belichick 'Hates' It
April 23, 2021
Much like his former starting quarterback, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reportedly isn't a fan of the NFL's decision to relax its rules for jersey numbers.
Per ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, the Patriots voted against the rule change that will expand the numbers available to players at all positions.
According to Florio, Belichick "hates the new rule."
On Wednesday, NFL owners voted to pass three rule changes for the upcoming season, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
One of the changes allows running backs, tight ends, fullbacks, H-backs and wide receivers to wear numbers between 1-49 and 80-89. Defensive backs can choose from 1-49; linebackers 1-59 and 90-99; offensive linemen 50-79; and defensive linemen 50-79 and 90-99.
The change has caused a stir, most notably from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion called it "dumb" in posts on Instagram.
"Good luck trying to block the right people now!" Brady wrote. "Going to make for a lot of bad football."
Previously, position groups have been limited to jersey numbers within a certain range. The new rule will require adjustments from all players, most notably quarterbacks as they adjust protections at the line of scrimmage.
