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The New England Patriots have had a busy offseason so far: While they saw multiple key contributors from the past few years exit via free agency, a whole bunch of new players were brought in either through trades or open market deals. With the next phase of offseason workouts coming closer – OTAs will start on May 21 –, the team has finally assigned those players new jersey numbers.
Take a look at them as provided by the Patriots' official Twitter account:
WR Riley McCarron: #17
FS Duron Harmon: #21
CB Jason McCourty: #30
RB Jeremy Hill: #33
DE Keionta Davis: #58
OT Matt Tobin: #64
OG Jason King: #65
OC James Ferentz: #66
OT Trent Brown: #67
DT Danny Shelton: #71
OT Luke Bowanko: #72
OT Ulrick John: #77
WR Jordan Matthews: #80
WR Cordarrelle Patterson: #84
TE Troy Niklas: #86
WR Kenny Britt: #88
DE Adrian Clayborn: #94
Some notes on the 17 new jersey numbers:
Duron Harmon moves on from 30: Ever since joining the Patriots' roster in 2013, Harmon had worn the number 30. However, former Rutgers teammate and offseason addition Jason McCourty apparently convinced him to switch and he now moves to 21 – the number was opened up when Malcolm Butler signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent.
Jordan Matthews takes Danny Amendola's old number: Some of the best wide receivers in franchise history donned the number 80, which last worn by Amendola who helped the team win two Super Bowls. Now, Matthews tries to add to its storied history – one that also includes Don Hasselback, Irving Fryar and Troy Brown – after starting his career wearing numbers 81 and 87.
Cordarrelle Patterson stays on the 84-train: After he was drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft, Patterson was assigned jersey number 84 by the Minnesota Vikings. He continued using it after joining the Oakland Raiders and will still wear it with the Patriots.
Two defensive linemen go back to their roots: When they entered the NFL, Danny Shelton and Adrian Clayborn were given jersey numbers 71 and 94, respectively. Both players changed to different numbers further down the line but now go back to their originals.