When the Seattle Seahawks signed veteran free agent Greg Olsen to a one-year deal, he and Will Dissly needed to work something out. Olsen has been wearing the No. 88 since 2011, his first year with the Panthers, while Dissly wore 88 his first two seasons in Seattle.
Fortunately, the two struck a deal where Olsen will donate money to a charity of Dissly’s choice in exchange for his old number back, an exchange that John Schneider called “pretty cool”.
Now, Dissly ended the suspense by announcing on his Instagram that he will be wearing No. 89 next season, giving a shout out to former teammate Doug Baldwin – who last wore the number for the Seahawks in 2018.
Some had hoped Dissly would go back to his old number at UW, 98, but NFL rules prohibit receivers or tight ends from wearing a number in the 90’s.
So instead, Dissly will take over a number with a lot of history in Seattle. Baldwin wore No. 89 from 2012-2018 after wearing No. 15 his rookie season.
Baldwin took over the mantle from Brian Blades, who wore No. 89 from 1988-1998, an 11-year career that saw him make a Pro Bowl in 1989 and rack up over 7,500 receiving yards – second in team history behind Steve Largent. Baldwin is third.
Dissly is on track to return from his achilles injury in time to begin the 2020 season, and he plans to do the No. 89 justice with another strong, hopefully healthy, campaign.
