New season, new team, new number for Patrick Peterson.
The All-Pro cornerback is heading from the desert heat to the cold air of Minnesota this season, and he's trading his trademark No. 21 for a No. 7 in 2021. The catch: practice squad QB Nate Stanley was already wearing No. 7, so Peterson had to pay up somehow.
In exchange for the digit, Peterson donated 10 shoulder pads to the Menomonie High School football team in Wisconsin. Menomonie is Stanley's alma mater. The QB will switch to No. 14 for this upcoming season.
He's back in the purple & gold and now he's back wearing the #7! @P2 makes his new @Vikings number OFFICIAL with @BMac_SportsTalk on All Things Covered. pic.twitter.com/EqK9e4ARhF
— All Things Covered (@ATCoveredPod) April 25, 2021
MORE: What you need to know about NFL's new number rules
If that number is weird, it's because only quarterbacks, kickers and punters were allowed single-digit numbers before the 2021 season, but the NFL passed new rules relaxing the number restrictions for players in April. Defensive backs are now allowed to wear anything from 1 to 49, leading to Peterson wanting to make the switch for his new squad.
Peterson has a history with the single digit: He wore it in high school and in college with LSU, and believes there's some numerology that went into the number this year. Look good, feel good, play good, as they say.
Teammate Dalvin Cook didn't have as much luck with a number change, though: In order for players to switch numbers for the 2021 season, a player must buy out the current inventory of jerseys in distribution. The price for Cook to change would have been around $1.5 million.
Looks like Peterson — and those high school kids — got the better deal here.
