The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to kick off their 2025 season in less than a week. Not much is expected to change about how this team will look before their battle with the New York Jets on September 7th, but several players did just make a big stylistic change before the season gets underway.
Six players, including standout rookie Yahya Black, have changed their jersey numbers ahead of the 2025 campaign. Among them are a mix of veterans and practice squad members, with Andrus Peat, Esezi Otomewo, Trey Sermon, D'Shawn Jamison, and Max Hurleman all making the switch to a new look.
Whether you are a fan who is big into jersey numbers or not, they often mean something to either the players or the team. It will be interesting to see if any of these jerseys become common sights in the stands of Acrisure Stadium this fall.
Pittsburgh Steelers players choose to go more traditional route with jersey number changes
I can't speak for all Steelers fans, but something about Black wearing 78 felt right when watching him this summer. Alas, he went the more traditional route with a switch to 94, last worn by Dean Lowry. The same could be said for rookie practice squad member Hurleman, swapping out his 34 jersey for a very familiar one in 84.
Cordarrelle Patterson wore the number last season, but it is much more famous (or, maybe infamous) for being worn by former All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown.
Otomewo making the 53-man roster was a surprise, and now he gets a more typical number (93) for a defensive lineman after wearing 72 this summer. Practice squad corner D'Shawn Jamison followed that pattern as well, moving from 17 to 38.
Veterans Andrus Peat and Trey Sermon already had normal numbers for their positions, but they also switched things up. Peat moved from 68 to 71, and Sermon switched from 27 to 37.
I doubt many fans bought the jersey of any of these players aside from Black, but let it be a lesson to wait until the season starts before buying a jersey. You never know if a player will switch things up, especially with the NFL's recent rule changes allowing more freedom of number selection.