During training camp, it’s common for two players on the same team to be wearing the same number. With 90-man rosters and retired jerseys numbers (officially and unofficially), there’s bound to be overlap. Often, at least one if not both players wearing the same digits don’t make the 53-man roster.
But in the case of the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s currently two players wearing No. 26 poised to make the roster. That’s LB Kwon Alexander and RB Anthony McFarland Jr. Meaning, one of them is going to have to change. It sounds like it’ll be Alexander, who told reporters Monday he has no problem making the switch.
“I’ll probably get up out of the 26, let my boy AntMac do his thing with it,” Alexander said via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “I’ll try to find a 50 number or something like that. I wanted a single-digit, but they won’t let defensive players be single-digit guys here. It’s still old-fashioned, traditional.”
Alexander was signed in early August after visiting the Steelers in May, initially leaving without a deal. But he returned as the pads were popping in Latrobe. Despite catching the team’s moving train, Alexander got up to speed in no time. He enjoyed a solid summer performance, aggressive, physical, and an energy-bringer to the defense with the Steelers’ inside linebacker trio of Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Alexander looking superior to a season ago.
McFarland enjoyed an impressive summer, one he needed in order to stick and make the team. While his spot might not be written in the same ink as Alexander’s, he’s far more likely than not to make the team and Alexander’s comments only further that belief.
Once the Steelers trim their roster down to 53, numbers will open up for Alexander to take. As he noted and as we’ve written about in the past, Pittsburgh doesn’t allow single-digit numbers to be worn for non-traditional positions. With rare exceptions, Melvin Ingram’s No. 8 being one of them, the Steelers are old school. Some of the numbers in the 50 will be spoken for. Cole Holcomb has No. 55, Alex Highsmith No. 56 while no one is wearing Mike Webster’s No. 52, Jack Lambert’s No. 58, or Jack Ham’s No. 59. Rookie Nick Herbig is also likely to keep his No. 51.
In his career, Alexander has worn No. 56 and No. 58 but neither will be options with the Steelers. Perhaps he’ll snag No. 53 if LB Nick Kwiatkoski and OL Kendrick Green don’t make the team. His college No. 25 should be available to wear (if the Steelers let him) or maybe Alexander will even have to think about something in the 40s. But as long as he carries over his stellar preseason play, it doesn’t matter if his jersey number will have to make a change.
