FRISCO, Texas — With only a few days remaining before the Dallas Cowboys take the field to begin their season with a massive test against the Philadelphia Eagles, the 53-man roster and 17-man practice squad are mostly set, even if the concrete isn’t completely dried as of yet — leaving only jersey numbers to be ironed out, such as for rookie running back Jaydon Blue.
More on that, and others, in a moment.
A quick reminder that, throughout the offseason, the Cowboys and the other 31 NFL teams are permitted to duplicate numbers as long as one of them is assigned to offense and the other to defense. That led to players like undrafted free agent Traeshon Holden sharing No. 7 with All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, as one example.
None of the changes are as meteoric as that of DeMarvion Overshown, seeing as the young linebacker made history by becoming the first in franchise history to be granted the No. 0, but there’s still plenty of spicy bits in the other changes.
It also creates a situation, annually, in which incoming players simply accept whatever number is available only to finally acquire the one they ultimately had their eyes on the entire summer.
This brings us back to Blue, who is exiting the No. 34 to acquire the No. 23, a number he wore for the Texas Longhorns and that also pays homage to his previous running backs coach, none other than former Cowboys’ halfback Tashard Choice — worn most recently during the season by Rico Dowdle.
“Back in 23,” he posted on social media with smiley face emojis attached.
He isn’t the only change, of course, as Holden moves to No. 80 on the Cowboys’ practice squad, a jersey made famous by legendary receivers Tony Hill and Alvin Harper, worn by fellow wideout Ryan Flournoy in 2024.
Any additional changes to jersey numbers would have to take place prior to Thursday night’s contest against the Eagles, e.g., should Donovan Ezeiruaku decide to move out of No. 41, or that player will be locked into their respective jersey for the entirety of the season.
Take a look below for the remainder of jersey assignments and changes for 2025:
Jaydon Blue, RB – 23
Miles Sanders, RB – 24
Trikweze Bridges, CB – 25
Reddy Steward, CB – 27
Buddy Johnson, LB – 32
Shavon Revel, CB – 34
Traeshon Holden, WR – 80
Rivaldo Fairweather, TE – 84