Bucs WR Adam Humphries gave DeSean Jackson his jersey number for a great cause
Jersey numbers are a big deal in the NFL. Players pay substantial amounts of money to get them from new teammates, or in Jalen Ramsey’s case last year, veterans refuse to give up their digits.
That’s not the case for a couple of new teammates in Tampa Bay. DeSean Jackson, who just signed a three-year deal with the Buccaneers, wore No. 11 with the Redskins. That number was occupied by wideout Adam Humphries, who was open to changing numbers for Jackson.
"It was kind of fun. I've never been in a situation like this before," Humphries said, via the Tampa Bay Times. "DeSean gave me a call, asked me how much I liked No. 11, if I wanted to keep it, how it would be cool if he got it from me. We had some fun going back and forth, me asking him how much it meant to him."
Humphries joked that Jackson should go back to No. 10, which he wore with the Eagles years ago. He thought about sending Jackson a picture of him wearing No. 10 and saying, “Man, you look good in that number.”
It never had to come to that, though, as the two came to an agreement that not only worked out for themselves, but also benefited the community.
Jackson is going to donate to a children’s charity in Tampa, while Humphries will do the same back home in South Carolina.
"We had a good idea it'd be good to help out a charity, to help the kids out locally," Humphries said. "For him to be a new member of the Tampa Bay area, it's good for him to get involved like that. The money wasn't really that big a deal, so we wanted to help out. It's just something good to come out of a little fun between two teammates."
