Philadelphia Eagles: Haason Reddick lands in single digit heaven

Earlier this week, Haason Reddick asked his new/old fanbase for suggestions as to which number he should wear with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Would he stick with 43, his NFL number since being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals’ 13th overall in 2017? Or would he pick a new number, maybe 58, the number he initially wore at Temple?

Well, as it turns out, he went with neither, as fans overwhelmingly wanted to see Philadelphia’s new pass rusher extraordinaire don a single digit, the single-digit he earned during his final season on North Broad, while sacking opposing quarterbacks at the Linc once more.

And the best part? The Philadelphia Eagles’ top free agent addition doesn’t even need to change his Twitter handle, as @Haason7Reddick should suit him fine for the next three seasons at the very least.

You can finally order your new Haason Reddick Philadelphia Eagles jersey, folks.

In the NFL, single-digit numbers are still special.

Outside of quarterback, kicker, and punter, non-offensive linemen were held to goofy numerical convictions that made life easier for officials, broadcasters, and some fans watching from home, but sucked some of the fun out of what makes college football enjoyable; right up there with the tailgating, color coordination, and spending way too much money on bowl game tickets.

Despite choosing 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant during his first season in midnight green, Darius Slay switched from 24 to 2 in 2021 and had a bounceback campaign right up there with his best years as a member of the Detroit Lions. Steven Nelson, too, chose to go with a single-digit number, in his case 3, and while he didn’t earn a Pro Bowl nod for his efforts in Philadelphia, the aesthetic of having two single-digit cornerbacks made for a fun visual for Birds fans the world over.

Now, Haason Reddick can add his name to the rapidly expanding single-digit defensive Eagles club, as he will wear the number 7 this fall.

On paper, this is a money move for Reddick in more ways than one. In Jonathan Gannon‘s defense, Reddick is expected to deploy from all over the field, playing SAM linebacker in base packages and then kicking it down to the defensive line when the team needs a little extra speed off the edge. While both defensive linemen and linebackers can wear most of the same numbers under the old system – all of them actually – having a moveable blitzing chess piece with a single-digit number just feels right, as fans will be able to key in on him as easily as opposing quarterbacks surely will have to.

The numerical decision is also a money move because, well, the Eagles are going to sell his jerseys like gangbusters, as the novelty of a single-digit defensive number, especially worn by a player who spent his college years at Temple will surely generate enough revenue to take a chunk out of his signing bonus, which comes in at a hefty $13.715 million – or a solid portion of Derek Barnett‘s new two-year deal, if you’re still salty about his addition.

Realistically, the number Haason Reddick chooses to wear this fall should have no impact on his on-field performance. Ronald Darby had his best season in midnight green wearing 41, and Brandon Graham wore 54 before the far superior 55 became available during Jason Kelce‘s rookie season. With that being said, watching the hometown kid tear it up with the Philadelphia Eagles in the number that made him a star up Broad just feels right. I don’t know about you, but 7 sure looks “Tuff” to me.