When Deebo Samuel takes the field for the San Francisco 49ers in 2024, his uniform is going to look slightly different than it did last year and that's because the receiver has decided to make to some changes.
Not only will Samuel be changing his number for the 2024 season, but he'll also be adding two letters to the back of his uniform. That second part will make more sense by the time you finish reading this story.
After spending the first five seasons of his career wearing 19, Samuel has decided that he's going to switch to No. 1 and he gave us a sneak preview of what his new number will look like on him.
Samuel actually wore that number during his college career at South Carolina, but he wasn't able to wear it in the NFL because receivers weren't allowed to wear No. 1 when he entered the league in 2019.
In 2021, the NFL changed its numbering policy, which opened the door for receivers to wear No. 1, but he still wasn't able to snag the number because it went to Jimmie Ward. After Ward left in free agency last offseason, Deebo probably could have made the switch to No. 1 then, but it would have been costly. If you don't give the NFL a one-year notice on switching your number, you have to buy out all your old jerseys that were for sale, which is likely why Samuel didn't make the switch for last season.
Not only is Deebo getting a new number, but he's also adding "SR" to the back of his jersey. The receiver now has a son and he wants to honor that fact by changing the back of his jersey to "SAMUEL SR" as you can see below.
New threads🔥@19problemz pic.twitter.com/SMq8P8hbOb
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) March 12, 2024
Deebo's real name is Tyshun Raequan Samuel and he now has a son, whose name is Tyshun Raequan Samuel Jr.
The 28-year-old Samuel is going into his sixth season with the 49ers. He's been a versatile weapon for a team that's been to four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls during his time there.
