The Pittsburgh Steelers had been laying the groundwork for a week in anticipation of the new kickoff rules passing. Within hours of the vote, the Steelers agreed to terms with legendary kickoff returner Cordarrelle Patterson. Even though Patterson had played for five teams prior to signing with the Steelers, he always had the number 84 on his jersey.
Could that be changing in Pittsburgh? On Tuesday night, Patterson took to X/Twitter and asked his followers about a potential number change.
“Keep my number 84 Or switch to,” Patterson wrote before posting a poll with the numbers 10, 13, 18, and 81.
The last player to wear 84 for the Steelers was WR Antonio Brown. Since he left after the 2018 season, no other player has suited up in a regular-season game for Pittsburgh wearing the jersey. Now Brown was an incredible wide receiver during his time in Pittsburgh, but he left on less-than-stellar terms (and his post-Steelers life has been erratic at best). So it’s not like the Steelers have unofficially retired the number.
So why is Patterson asking about a potential number change? Perhaps at this stage in his career, he just is thinking about doing something different. It’s hard to imagine Patterson in anything other than an 84 jersey, though. After all, he holds the record for most kickoff returns for touchdowns in a single career with nine, and he returned all nine of those in an 84 jersey.
As for the other options, the number 10 has been on the jerseys of some special (and not-so-special) players in Pittsburgh. Santonio Holmes caught the Super Bowl-winning pass from Ben Roethlisberger wearing 10. Kordell Stewart also sported the 10 as he torched defenses with his feet and his arm. (Side note: How good would Stewart be in today’s NFL?) Most recently, Mitch Trubisky wore 10, and his tenure won’t go down as a much-beloved era.
Lucky number 13 has not been a number associated with prolonged production with the Steelers. It was most recently worn by Miles Boykin with James Washington wearing it from 2018-2021 before him. So if Patterson is looking to make a number his in Pittsburgh, 13 could be the way to go.
As for the number 18, it would be interesting to see the Steelers immediately turn around and give that number out. Say what you will about Diontae Johnson, but he was a quality wide receiver for the Steelers from 2019-2023. So to assign that number to another player in the same offseason the Steelers traded Johnson away would be a choice.
This brings us to the number 81. The last two players to wear 81 in Pittsburgh were both tight ends: Zach Gentry and Jesse James. The “best” player statistically to wear the 81 for the Steelers was WR Charles Johnson from 1994-1998. He had 247 catches for 3,400 yards and 15 touchdowns. He would go on to win the 2001 Super Bowl with the New England Patriots as a depth player.
All that being said, it would feel wrong for Cordarrelle Patterson to wear any other jersey than 84, right? That’s what the majority of the comments on Patterson’s X/Twitter poll reflected.
