New Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf will wear No. 4 for the team. Officially announcing the trade moments ago, the team’s social media account shared the first (photoshopped) image of Metcalf in Black and Gold, sporting No. 4.
Despite wearing No. 14 throughout his high school, college, and NFL careers, Metcalf won’t carry it over to the Steelers. Instead, George Pickens will keep No. 14, the number he’s worn since being drafted by the Steelers in 2022. NFL rules mandate that players who change jersey numbers without changing teams must buy the collection of jerseys on sale. That would’ve cost Pickens plenty of money, though in most situations, the players taking over the number foots the bill. Ultimately, Metcalf chose to celebrate his fresh start with a new number.
Per the team’s media guide, the last Steeler to wear No. 4 was K Nick Sciba in 2022. QB Byron Leftwich wore No. 4 throughout his Steelers career as did P Jordan Berry. For the regular season, Metcalf becomes the first Pittsburgh receiver ever to wear a single-digit number.
Pittsburgh made the blockbuster agreement on Sunday evening, landing Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks for a second-round selection in this year’s draft. The two teams also swapped late-round picks, Pittsburgh receiving a sixth and Seattle getting back a seventh. The Steelers’ draft order is official with six current picks for next month’s draft.
Typically, non-quarterbacks haven’t been allowed to wear single digits as one of the team’s old-school rules. It’s also the reason why the Steelers don’t issue No. 1. But they’ve made exceptions in recent years. Linebacker Patrick Queen got to keep his No. 6 jersey after signing with the team from Baltimore a year ago and Metcalf grabs No. 4.
In the end, Metcalf will still have a four on his jersey. He just dropped the one.
Jersey numbers for the Steelers’ new signings, CB Darius Slay, RB Kenneth Gainwell, and ILB Malik Harrison, haven’t been announced. We’ll see if Slay keeps the No. 2 he wore in Philadelphia, a digit freed up by QB Justin Fields’ exit to New York.
