FRISCO, Texas – Kelvin Joseph will be sporting a familiar number when he takes the field in his second season – the No. 1.
Thanks to the NFL's new rules that allow players to wear a wider variety of numbers, switches are becoming more common at this time in the league calendar. The Cowboys have 13 number changes as they prepare for their 2022 offseason program.
The most notable of those is Joseph, the No. 44 overall pick in last year's draft. The Cowboys initially assigned him No. 24 upon selecting him in the second round, but Joseph wore No. 1 as a college player at both Kentucky and LSU, and he'll continue to do that as the first defensive player to wear No. 1 in team history.
The cornerback group as a whole is going to look quite different, as Jourdan Lewis moved into No. 2 and Anthony Brown moved into No. 3 this offseason.
Those are the most noteworthy changes, but several other contributors are making a switch. Chauncey Golston is moving into No. 99 after wearing No. 59 as a rookie. New addition Dante Fowler Jr. has also chose No. 56, the number he has worn for most of his pro career. Veteran fullback Ryan Nall, who just signed last week, is sporting No. 35.
Joseph isn't the only young player with a new number. Second-year safety Israel Mukuamu has moved into No. 24, while third-year running backs Rico Dowdle and Sewo Olonilua are now wearing No. 23 and No. 33, respectively.
Second-year tight end Ian Bunting has also moved into No. 89, while second-year defensive tackle Josiah Bronson is currently wearing No. 94. Second-year kicker Chris Naggar is wearing No. 19.
You can likely expect to see more changes in this department. The Cowboys have yet to add their rookie draft class, as well as whatever undrafted and veteran free agents they sign between now and the start of training camp.
It's a good bet the number shuffling isn't done quite yet.
