It's All a Numbers Game for Bears at This Point

The Bears on Saturday announced jersey number assignments for rookies and a few recently signed free agents.

No. Ledarius Mack will not be wearing No. 52 instead of his brother Khalil.

Ledarius Mack will wear No. 57 as a rookie Bears outside pass rusher.

The Bears assigned all their numbers and it's usually a tight fit when this happens because there are so few numbers to work with due to 14 numbers being retired.

It's the most in the NFL.

Top draft pick Cole Kmet from Notre Dame received jersey No. 85, while fellow second-round cornerback pick Jaylon Johnson from Utah is wearing No. 33, the number worn by former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman. It also was worn by Duke Shelley last year but his jersey number has been changed to No. 20.

No. 99 will be worn by outside linebacker Trevis Gipson. The last two years it was worn by unrestricted free agent outside linebacker Aaron Lynch.

The other draft picks' jersey numbers will be:

No. 11 for fifth-round receiver Darnell Mooney

No. 46d for fifth-round cornerback Kindle Vildor

No. 71 for seventh-round offensive lineman Kindle Vildor

No. 73 seventh-round offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons

Other undrafted free agent jersey numbers are :

2 wide receiver Ahmad Wagner

37o running back Artavis Pierce

44d linebacker Rashad Smith

46o running back Napoleon Maxwell

49d linebacker Keandre Jones

57 linebacker Ledarius Mack

60 guard Dieter Eiselen

63 defensive tackle Lee Autry

75 defensive tackle Trevon McSwain

76o tackle Badara Traore

97 linebacker LaCale London

The veteran free agent jersey numbers assigned were No. 4 for wide receiver Trevor Davis, No. 38 for safety Tashaun Gipson and No. 90 for defensive lineman John Jenkins.

Two other veteran jerseys were changed besides Shelley's.

Tight end Eric Saubert is No. 43o instead of 43. Kentrell Brice is 43d now after he was initially given 38. He had to give it up for Gipson.

The "o" and "d" are used so much obviously because so few jersey numbers are out there.

The retired numbers are 3 (Bronko Nagurski), 5 (George McAfee), 7 (George Halas), 28 (Willie Galimore), 34 (Walter Payton), 40 (Gale Sayers), 41 (Brian Piccolo), 42 (Sid Luckman, 51 (Dick Butkus), 56 (Bill Hewitt), 61 (Bill George), 66 (Bulldog Turner), 77 (Red Grange) and 89 (Mike Ditka).

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