Bear Digest

Grady Jarrett to wear jersey number of Chicago Bears Hall of Famer — and it might look strange

New Chicago Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is choosing to go back to his college jersey number, which happens to be the same as a Bears legend.

Lorin Cox

Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett talks to the media on the first day of training camp at Falcons Training Camp.
Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett talks to the media on the first day of training camp at Falcons Training Camp. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Bears' newest additions have picked the jersey numbers they're going to wear this season, and one of the team's highest profile signings made an interesting choice.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett wore the number 97 for his entire 10 year career with the Atlanta Falcons.

In Chicago, that number is already worn by nose tackle Andrew Billings, and evidently Jarrett couldn't get it from him.

Instead, he chose the number 50 that he worn in college at Clemson. But Bears fans most famously associate it with Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary.

Chicago Bears linebacker (50) Mike Singletary in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field in 1991
RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Jarrett is far from the first player to don the number since Iron Mike retired after the 1992 season.

Undrafted free agent linebacker Carl Jones wore it this past season. Former Bears starter Jerrell Freeman wore it too, right after former first-round pick Shea McClellin had it when he moved to linebacker.

The strangest part will be seeing Jarrett wearing a number in the 50s at the defensive tackle position.

Clemson Tigers defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (50) in action against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 2014
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Bears have had defensive ends wear numbers in the 50s, but interior linemen have stuck to numbers in the 90s, 70s and 60s.

Fortunately, Jarrett is the caliber of player who can do Singletary's number justice and maybe make us forget how out of place 50 will look on a 290-pound body in the NFL.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the host of the Locked on Bears podcast and has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2016. He is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus and has written for NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today's Bears Wire. You can follow him on Twitter @CoxSports1.

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