Eric Berry and Justin Houston uniform numbers already claimed by new Chiefs

If you’re looking for No. 29 and No. 50 on the field this year for the Chiefs defense, you’ll be seeing new players in action.

There are only so many uniform numbers to go around on an NFL team, and each franchise right now has to come up with numbers for a 90-man roster, so no one is saying it’s anything wrong, necessarily, that the Kansas City Chiefs have already given away the uniform numbers of recently released star players. It’s just going to take some getting used to. That’s all.

Every Sunday for the last several years, Chiefs Kingdom is used to identifying and cheering for favorite defenders like No. 50 Justin Houston and No. 29 Eric Berry. This offseason, however, the defensive renovation forced out both players via release along with numerous other starters who have been released or traded. Neither move was a major shock given the financials involved but it was still weird to see Berry taking a free agent visit to Dallas (he remains unsigned) and Houston sign with the Indianapolis Colts.

Now it’s another level of odd to see that cornerback Kendall Fuller has been given Berry’s old number. Fuller’s old number in Washington was No. 29, so it makes sense that he would want to switch back when given the chance. As for Houston’s old number, it fell to the newest member of the team, linebacker Darron Lee. The former Jets linebacker was acquired earlier this week for a sixth round draft choice.

Every team eventually recycles every number and these won’t be the last numbers to change hands for the Chiefs that will surprise us. The reality is that, like it or not, players move on and until the NFL approves triple digit uniforms or some alternate characters, it’s going to feel a bit awkward or even disrespectful to some to see new players in old uniforms.