Employee No. 96 is now Employee No. 43.
Former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap will suit up in a No. 43 jersey with his Seattle Seahawks.
He’s got a revised contract, too, with his base salary of nearly $8 million cut down to $2 million in order to make the recent trade work.
He talked about the situation with ESPN’s Brady Henderson:
“I wanted to go where I could contribute to winning. That way I could get the full experience and earn my keep. So I put my money where my mouth is. Now we’ve got to let my play speak — my pads speak, as they would say here.”
Dunlap can’t wear his usual No. 96 because the Seahawks retired that number in honor of Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy.
Things fell apart between the Bengals and Dunlap for a variety of reasons this year, with the defensive end taking his complaints public and eventually forcing the team’s hand — making him the second in-season trade by the team since 1985.
Dunlap lands in a favorable scheme on a contender and has a massive chance to prove he can revive one of the league’s worst pass rushes.
