Dolphins Play the Numbers Game

As the Miami Dolphins head into Phase Two of their offseason program, they began the week with the ever-popular jersey number unveiling for veteran newcomers.

The announcement also included some jersey number switches for returning players, so here's the list of the number announcements from Monday morning:

WR Braxton Berrios — 0

WR Chosen Anderson — 3

CB Kader Kohou — 4

CB Jalen Ramsey — 5

QB Mike White — 14

P Jake Bailey — 16

S DeShon Elliott — 21

RB Myles Gaskin — 37

OLB Malik Reed — 47

LB David Long Jr. — 51

IOL Dan Feeney — 67

T Kion Smith — 77

TE Eric Saubert — 82

WR Freddie Swain — 88

Starting the week with some jersey #️⃣s! 😄 pic.twitter.com/9tMoXLVKL5
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 1, 2023

Here is some of the background behind the numbers:

GASKIN GOES BACK TO OLD NUMBER

Running back Myles Gaskin is going back to the 37 he wore during his first three seasons with the Dolphins, while the number 3 he had in 2022 will go to Anderson.

The veteran newcomer has worn 11 for the majority of his career, but that number currently belongs to fellow wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. Anderson did wear number for the Arizona Cardinals last season.

RAMSEY GETS THE NUMBER 5

Both Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott and Mike White had the number 5 last season — for the Rams and Jets, respectively — and seniority won out here, with Ramsey getting the number worn last season by Teddy Bridgewater.

White, meanwhile, gets the number last worn by another backup quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Elliott, meanwhile, wore 32 in his three seasons with Baltimore before switching to 5 last year with Detroit. Elliott will take the number worn last season by veteran Eric Rowe; second-year safety Verone McKinley III has the number 32.

BERRIOS MAKES HISTORY

Berrios' new number already was known following a recent Instagram post, but it's noteworthy nonetheless as he'll become the first Miami player to wear 0 following NFL owners approving new jersey number rules a few weeks back.

Berrios joined the Dolphins in the offseason as a free agent from the New York Jets, for whom he wore number 10. Berrios wasn't going to get that number with the Dolphins because it belongs to Tyreek Hill.

Once he appears in a regular season game for the Dolphins, Berrios will join Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese for the distinction of being the only player to wear a specific number for Miami. Griese, of course, wore 12 and it's now one of three retired jersey numbers for the Dolphins

NEW NUMBERS FOR VETERANS

Among the free agent acquisitions, Long remained with the number 51 he wore in Tennessee and Feeney kept his 67 from his time with the Jets, but Bailey and Reed both changed numbers.

Reed wore 59 and 50 during his four seasons with Denver and Pittsburgh; Bailey wore number 7 during his time with the New England Patriots.