One of the newest players for the Kansas City Chiefs could be the first to take advantage of the NFL’s new rules on jersey numbers.
The Chiefs made their signing of free-agent LB Kamalei Correa official on Thursday, welcoming the five-year NFL veteran to the team. The team did list him as a linebacker in the announcement of the signing and that distinction is important for a few reasons.
First, of course, is the role that he’ll be playing in Kansas City. The Chiefs clearly view him as a SAM linebacker prospect rather than a defensive end. The second is because of the jersey numbers that linebackers are now permitted to wear.
Correa is represented by DEC Management’s David Canter, who tweeted out this photo once he signed with the team:
Congratulations to #TeamDEC client Kamalei Correa on signing with @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/7iwNdHvKFp
— DEC Management (@davidcanter) May 6, 2021
Now, this could just be a simple jersey swap graphic and Correa could be wearing a different number in Kansas City. It could just as easily actually be the jersey number that he intends to wear with the Chiefs.
Under the NFL’s new rules, linebackers can now wear single-digit numbers. No player in Kansas City is currently wearing the No. 8 jersey. It was most recently worn by QB Matt Moore, who currently remains a free agent. It doesn’t look like he’ll be back with the team either, with the five quarterbacks currently on the roster.
Correa has a history with the No. 8 jersey number as he wore it back in college with the Boise State Broncos. If that doesn’t happen to be the number that he wears in Kansas City, it’s worth noting that Correa also wore the No. 92 jersey back in high school. He wore the No. 40 and No. 44 with the Titans. He also wore the No. 55 with the Jaguars in 2020.
