Eagles don't give out No. 20
The Eagles should have 85 players on the field Friday for the first day of minicamp. None will be wearing No. 20. When the Eagles were issuing uniform numbers for their newcomers, draft picks and undrafted free agents, No. 20 went unassigned.
Eagles don't give out No. 20
Daily News staff
The Eagles should have 85 players on the field Friday for the first day of minicamp. None will be wearing No. 20.
When the Eagles were issuing uniform numbers for their newcomers, draft picks and undrafted free agents, No. 20 went unassigned.
The number is synonymous with Brian Dawkins, and always will be in the minds and hearts of Eagles fans. Pity the poor young defensive back who would have been saddled with carrying on that tradition.
The Eagles often have not immediately given out the numbers vacated by popular players when they move on, but indications are that No. 20 has moved into the category of sacred numbers.
Dawkins' No. 20 likely can be viewed like Randall Cunningham's No. 12. The number is not retired, but it has not been worn since Jeffrey Lurie purchased the team.
Reggie White's No. 92 was worn for a day at the first minicamp after Lurie purchased the team, but Lurie put a stop to that and it was not worn again and then was retired after White's death.
The NFL discourages teams from retiring too many numbers simply because teams would eventually run out, especially during training camp and early in the preseason. The Eagles have seven retired jerseys.
The team has 85 players on the roster, with four numbers being worn by more than one player, because of the volume of linemen at this time of year.
In case you are wondering, the vacant numbers other than 12 and 20 are 1, 7, 8, 9, 38, 47, 48, 69, 72, 83, 85 and 94. Tra Thomas had worn 72 and Jon Runyan had 69.
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Ellis Hobbs has proved to be quite loquacious in his few days as a member of the Eagles and he already seems to be enjoying being with the Birds.
He told the Boston Globe that the trade was "like a breath of fresh air."
Now, I'm feeling like somebody wants me, somebody thinks I can do the job, somebody is embracing me with love and wants me here," said Hobbs. "They've already done that. Words only go so far, see. We'll see what's done from here."
Hobbs also talked about being reunited with former New England teammate Asante Samuel:
"There is a mutual respect," said Hobbs. "I'll go on the record and say there was no animosity. There was never a dispute. Or something like 'he's showing me up' or 'I'm showing him up' or anything like that, man. We enjoyed each other's company."
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To read our earlier posts, click here:
Scout's take on the Eagles draft
What We're Watching, Minicamp Edition
OMG, the first sign of a professionalism in the front office the whole offseason! Have they actually put their listening ears on????— Earl J
Yeah, because retooling the entire offense and the defensive secondary was such an amateur job. Send your Dawkins loveletters to the Broncos, people.— ahab- I'm surprised that 99 isn't one of those "sacred" numbers. If the Eagles hadn't tragically lost Jerome Brown the Buddy Ryan Era teams almost certainly would have won a Super Bowl or two.— vetlincbank
- 99 is one of the retired numbers.— JZan
- Whoops, I'm gonna go sit in the corner....— vetlincbank
HOW ABOUT WE GET RID OF 86..— teenwolf- even if it wasn't 'retired' - the kid that took #20 would realize after one day that he needs to change it... only one #20 --- ever!— AllDawk_AllTheTime
- Love it, #20 IS B Dawk! Anyone know who the 7 retired jerseys are? I can think of a few but got stuck. Kinda embarrasing— bear4995
- Hobbs wants a big payday. Will he be a distraction if he doesn't get it early in the season?— Phil E
Comment removed.- o...I thought this was because of the tragic passing of Andre Waters.— slovak34
- Lurie is not perfect but he is a great owner...we are very fortunate.— JBP
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- Officially retired numbers: 15 - Steve Van Buren, 40 - Tom Brookshier, 44 - Pete Retzlaff, 60 - Chuck Bednarik, 70 - Al Wistert, 92 - Reggie White, 99 - Jerome Brown, It has to be a sign of respect that the Eagles didn't hand out the 20, 69, or 72. It didn't take long after Terrell Owens left the team that Jason Avant had the number 81.— knighn
- It was classy of the Eagles to retire #00 for Freddy Mitchell.— JZan
- Why is #83 vacant? That belonged to another unusable, unnecessary chump! Greg Lewis was a waste of space. #20 will be known as Dawk's number FOREVER. He even took it to Denver with him! 'Bout time the Eagles FO did something for the fans......
- I miss Fred Barnett— Bake McBride
- mikemike, you're an idiot.— jbarts
- 12 a sacred number?????What a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!— PHILLYFAN INWYO
Really seriously Randall the handle - he and T.O. would have loved each other - you have my permission to put that number back in circulation- Ellis Hobbs seems to think he is much better than he is....greeeaaattt.— Nico Lange
- They should allow negative numbers, like -1, -22, etc. Lorenzo Booker should receive the first one.— Castle
- I have an authentic #44 jersey signed by Pete Retzlaff. Nice guy. Hew as at the draft day party a few years back. Yeah, there's no way they can NOT retire #20.— MVKrum
- If dawk goes to the hall then they retire the number, until then the team will probably just not allow anyone to wear it. plus he is still an active nfl player.— timm2
- They better not give out #20— NBAdraftRoom.com
- mikemike, Having reviewed the previous owners of the birds starting with Bert Bell and the records accumulated during their respective periods of ownership, Mr. Lurie is in fact the best owner the birds have ever had.— Grazman
- I will always wear my #20 in honor of BDawk and the Eagles knew it was the right thing to do and for once they did it!— WhatNow
Thanks Knighn...I saw the writers list of vacated numbers, and wasn't sure if that was the retired numbers, and I was wondering where was #60? Im only in my early 30's but Bednarik standing over Frank Gifford is the greatest Photo in Philly Sports history, IMO...— kjuggs77- wow....my guess is that joe did not think this would be looked on as a tribute to Dawk......so we will shall see it....because it showed the Eagles cared....and we know that the beancounter feels nothing but the love he has for Jeffery....— nuggett
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- Lurie isn't cheap...knock off the nonsense. Now Braman was cheap. The Eagles have paid top dollar to several players under Lurie - McNabb, Vincent, Douglas, Runyan, Kearse, Samuel, Peters, etc. Banner and Reid will pay for talent but they won't overpay aging vets....unlike Dan Snyder or Al Davis. Look where that kind of stupidity has gotten their teams. It's called being smart, not being cheap.— JimG
Noone could take 20 because X will be back next year. (Just a prediction.)— Richard Saunders- mikemike...you're an idiot.— TheNationHimself
- @mikemike - Just curious, but would you call Lurie "cheap" if he wasn't Jewish? I hear this charge made against him often, but it just doesn't square with reality. If memory serves me right on more than a couple of occasions he has made a player the highest-paid at his position. Why would someone who is "cheap" do that? Norman Braman made players pay for their own socks for crying out loud. Wait, let's see...he wouldn't just give Owens more money because he asked for it. Same with Lito and Sheldon...he must be cheap. I guess then if you were the owner you would just roll over when a player came asking for more money, right? Please, get over yourself and try to remember what this team was like before he owned it.— The Rhetorical Return
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- who cares? no disrespect to the retired stars. Dawkins does not deserve to have his number retired, period.— Onlineps2beast
- I see no reason to keep anyone from wearing #12. Cunningham was an idiot who sold this franchise short by not putting his full effort into learning to read a Defense or watching film, or being anything other than scrambled.— meatwallet
- Didn't Ty Detmer wear No. 12?— fgdavis
- I seriously beleive that had Cunningham not gotten hurt in 1991, the Birds would have won the SB that year...they still competed with an old Jim McMahon for crying out loud! The season Randall was coming off of in 1990 was the best season of his career, and his injury killed the development of Barnett and Calvin williams. I can live with #12 being retired- there hasn't been a more exciting Eagle before or since Randall. So many bigtime plays, but my favorite had to be his bounce off of Carl Banks and the Giants for a TD pass against the Giants on MNF- In all fairness, he was a weirdo, though.— kjuggs77
- I say we give the #1 jersey to lonewolf..— MJPD345
- What number is Maclin? I see Mark sanchez already has 6 for the Jets.— kjuggs77
- teenwolf and 5isaKing: You'd have to eighty-six that idea (ba dum tschhhh).— davesju93
- 83 is not being used because it would be tough to carry on the tradition set by greg lewis— stonefly
- I would have lost all respect for the front office if they handed out #20. Not that they get much respect from me currently...— MichelleY
- That 48 better stay vacant... Wes Hopkins baby!!!!!!!!!!— albertpa
- Not retiring number 5 would be the equivalent of a black-on-black crime— pete_roses_booky
- yeah well TO is a tool we would never show respect for him, Avants more deserving of that #— Will.i.Am
- what number was Izel Jenkins?— pete_roses_booky
- #20 needs to be retired. No player ever deserves to wear it again for the Eagles.— defx10
Jerome was great, but he wouldn't have made Buddy a winner. Superbowl or two - that blowhard couldn't even win ONE playoff game. Zero. 0.00 playoff wins for the Budster. Why do some people love him so much?— COskier- Comment removed.
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- vetlincbank - Brown passed during the Kotite years. Buddy was o for 3 in the playoffs with all his players. Our best shot went down with Randall's knee opening day of Kotite's 1st year.— phillyphan32367
- freddie mitchell really wasnt a bad receiver. i think he never got a real shot. probably some dispute with mcnabb.— maximus
how bout getting rid of 86 (reggie blows brown)and 74 (winston sacks justice)- Comment removed.
- Eagles give out No. 5, please trade this sorry, lame harse of quarterback!— Superbowless Eagles
- For 15 minutes 4th Down Freddie was THE greatest player in the history of the team. Seriously has anyone ever gotten more from one pass? BTW, all you need to know about B-Dawk: his hit on the giant TE Alge Crumpler in the NFC title game. For a normal safety that would be scarificing your body, but like everything with Dawk he wasn't the one who got up hurting.— Phils_World_Champs
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- Nice for the Eagles to honor Mike Schmidt by not giving out his number. Also, in the past few years, the Phillies appear to have a policy that no one wears #12 unless he shares a name part with Randall Wade Cunningham. Recent #12s have been Randall Simon and Matthew Wade Stairs. Another thing about #20 - Andre Waters' death at a young age.— rslitman
- when b-dawk and the broncos come to the linc #20 should be retired.— green faerie
- 83 was G-Lew. I guess they're gonna have to let that number rest a little, big shoes to fill!— gonegator
- Thanks, Wes for the numbers......— kjuggs77
- THEY BETTET NOT GIVE NO. 20 TO ANY PLAYER - EVER - RETIRE IT!— bow
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- #20 will never be worn again in eagles green.— Ryan
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- I'm surprised Banner and Laurie did not put it up for auction?? No question, B Dawk should and will have his #20 retired.— cote32
