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D’Andre Swift to become the first Eagles player to wear No. 0

The new Eagles running back is taking advantage of the NFL loosening rules for uniform numbers. Rookie Jalen Carter took 98, and fellow first-year player Nolan Smith took 3.

New Eagles running back D'Andre Swift wore No. 32 when he was with the Detroit Lions.
New Eagles running back D'Andre Swift wore No. 32 when he was with the Detroit Lions.Read moreSeth Wenig / AP
    by Matt Breen
    Published 

D’Andre Swift’s return home is now historic, as he’ll become the first Eagles player to wear No. 0, taking advantage of a new league rule that was proposed by the Eagles and permits players to now wear the digit.

Swift wore No. 32 for three seasons with the Lions, who traded him to the Eagles during last month’s draft. That number was worn last season in Philly by Reed Blankenship, and the digit Swift wore at St. Joseph’s Prep and the University of Georgia — No. 7 — is claimed by Haason Reddick. So Swift took a new number that’s yet to be issued.

The NFL loosened its rules the last few seasons and allowed more players to wear the single digits that once were reserved for quarterbacks, punters, and kickers. The latest change was approved in March and allows any player except for offensive and defensive linemen to wear No. 0.

The Eagles also announced that first-round rookies Jalen Carter (ninth overall selection) will wear No. 98, and Nolan Smith (the 30th selection) will wear No. 3.

» READ MORE: D’Andre Swift is eager to join the Eagles offense and wants to be ‘a piece of the puzzle’

Swift, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, is positioned as the leader of a running-back group that added free agent Rashaad Penny a month before the Eagles traded with Detroit. The 24-year-old Swift averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season and had 48 catches for 389 yards in 14 games. He has played at least 13 games in each of his first three seasons and burned the Eagles in last season’s opener for a career-high 144 rushing yards.

”I’m in a great running back room, first and foremost, with the guys that have been here,” Swift told reporters Thursday. “I’m just excited to get to work each day and be a piece to the puzzle, that’s it.”