Next Retired Numbers (Football, Part I)

It was Abdul Carter who inspired my sudden obsession with retired numbers, and it led to a three-part series with the next retired numbers for each team in baseball.  Continuing the series with the other sports was TBA, but snice this all started because of football, it only seemed appropriate to extend it at least to the NFL.  Then they had that whole thing about what number Shadeur Sanders will wear in Cleveland, which got me thinking about it again.

In the NFL, it's interesting, too.  Some teams just don't retire numbers (presumably to keep as many numbers available as possible because of the roster size) and have Ring of Honor instead.  Which actually makes this a fairly easy exercise.  Since there are Hall of Fame franchise icons who haven't had their numbers retired yet.  Granted, if that team doesn't retire numbers, it's unlikely to happen.  But that's not the point of this exercise.  So, let's assume that it will happen for every team.

Same rules apply with football that applied with baseball.  It's only one retired number per franchise, even if they have multiple obvious candidates.  So, for example, I have to pick between Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.  Which brings me to Rule No. 2.  Players can still be active as long as they've already done enough in their careers to warrant it.

So, with that, here we go.  I'll start with the AFC, then round it out with the NFC in our next installment:

Ravens: 52 Ray Lewis-The Ravens have technically only been around for 30 years, so in that regard it makes some sense that they haven't retired any numbers.  But, in that time, they've won two Super Bowls and had some iconic, Hall of Fame players.  Players like Ray Lewis, whose name is the first one that comes to mind when you're asked to think of a Baltimore Raven.

Bills: 83 Andre Reed-For a while, Jim Kelly was the only Bill whose number was formally retired.  Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith have since joined him.  That dynasty of the early 90s had four Hall of Famers, though.  As such, all four should have their numbers retired.  Which means Andre Reed's No. 83 should be up there with the other three.

Bengals: 78 Anthony Munoz-Cincinnati is one of those teams that simply doesn't retire numbers.  Only one.  For Bob Johnson, who played in the 70s.  And that number was retired in 1978.  Not Anthony Munoz, the greatest player in franchise history, one of the best offensive tackles ever, and a Hall of Famer.  Sorry, but it's just dumb that Munoz's number hasn't been retired all this time.

Browns: 73 Joe Thomas-All of Cleveland's retired numbers are from their original incarnation (and most of those are from the pre-Super Bowl days when the Browns were the dominant team in the NFL).  Which makes sense, since things haven't exactly gone that well since they rejoined the league.  There's one exception to that, though.  No matter how much the Browns sucked, Joe Thomas was still being selected for the Pro Bowl and named All-Pro every season.

Broncos: 30 Terrell Davis-Denver only has three retired numbers, but could easily have more.  There are so many great players who've worn a Broncos uniform.  Two of the three who've been honored--John Elway and Floyd Little--are career Broncos who are in the Hall of Fame.  If that's the criterion we're using, Terrell Davis certainly applies.

Texans: 80 Andre Johnson-Like the Ravens, the Texans have never retired a number.  Like the Ravens, the Texans certainly have players who'd be worthy of the honor.  And I can't think of anyone more worthy of being the first player to have his number retired in Houston than Andre Johnson, who's already the first Texan with a bust in Canton.

Colts: 93 Dwight Freeney-Except for Peyton Manning's No. 18, every number retired by the Colts is from their time in Baltimore.  Which is silly.  Because Peyton wasn't the only guy on those outstanding teams in the early 2000s.  I can think of at least three other guys from that offense alone (Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne).  But my first choice would be someone from the defense that was often overlooked but just as good during that era--Dwight Freeney.

Jaguars: 82 Jimmy Smith-Tony Boselli is the greatest player in Jaguars history and the only Jaguar who's had his number retired.  Appropriately so.  And, really, the options for who should be next are somewhat limited since Jacksonville really hasn't been that good for most of its 30 years.  I'm going with the franchise's all-time leading receiver and multi-time Pro Bowler Jimmy Smith.  Although, he's had some legal trouble since retiring from the NFL, so he'd definitely be a controversial choice. 

Chiefs: 87 Travis Kelce-Let's not kid ourselves.  Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes will both have their numbers retired in Kansas City.  It's not even a question.  Kelce is much closer to retirement than Mahomes is, though.  As such, Kelce will have his number retired first.  That is, assuming they don't honor another tight end--Tony Gonzalez--before him.

Raiders: 32 Marcus Allen-Al Davis didn't retire numbers, and his son, Mark, has continued that policy.  As such, there are no Raiders retired numbers.  But, since we're acting as if they are, it's really free reign to pick anybody in franchise history.  There are so many to choose from, so let's start with Marcus Allen and go from there.

Chargers: 85 Antonio Gates-Speaking of tight ends and the Hall of Fame, there's one who'll be headlining this year's class.  The Chargers have actually been pretty good with their retired numbers.  Every number you'd think would be retired is, with the exception of No. 85 for Gates and No. 17 for Philip Rivers.  It seems likely that both will be soon, with the 2025 Hall of Fame inductee getting the honor first.

Dolphins: 99 Jason Taylor-Believe it or not, not a single defensive player in Dolphins history has had his number retired.  Jason Taylor may not seem like an obvious pick for the first, but he was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, as well as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.  He also owns Miami's all-time record in numerous defensive categories.

Patriots: 11 Julian Edelman-No. 12 was retired immediately after Tom Brady officially hung it up.  And rightfully so.  You've gotta think that he won't be the only one from the dynasty years, though.  I'm not suggesting they go crazy.  But honoring Brady's favorite receiver who won three Super Bowls with New England and was the MVP of Super Bowl LIII.  Robert Kraft likes him, too.

Jets: 24 Darrelle Revis-After it was just Joe Namath and Don Maynard for the longest time, the Jets expanded the list of players who've had their number retired a few years ago, adding Hall of Famers Curtis Martin and Joe Klecko to that list, as well as Dennis Byrd.  The most recent Hall of Fame inductee who was primarily a Jet is Darrelle Revis, who's widely considered one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history.  His stats weren't great because nobody wanted to throw anywhere near "Revis Island"...and he was still voted to seven Pro Bowls!

Steelers: 12 Terry Bradshaw-Pittsburgh's another one of those teams with a surprisingly small amount of retired numbers.  Although, if you retired every Steeler who was worthy's number, they'd be like the Yankees and run out.  Still, it feels like they should have more than three (and they only retired No. 32 for Franco Harris in 2022).  When he retires from broadcasting, it'd be such a fitting tribute to honor Terry Bradshaw for a career in football.

Titans: 22 Derrick Henry-Rounding out the AFC, we've got the Oilers/Titans.  Steve McNair and Eddie George are their two best players of the Tennessee era.  All of their other retired numbers were Oilers.  And, obviously, though he's a Raven now, Derrick Henry was the best damn player in the league for a few seasons while with the Titans.  I don't think it's a crazy suggestion that, once his career is done, he'd be a candidate for a number retirement in Tennesse.  Especially if he goes back to the Titans at some point.