Often, when an NFL player who has had a fantastic career joins a new team, he works out a way to wear the jersey number he has always had. That won't be the case with recent Indianapolis Colts acquisition Keenan Allen. Instead, fellow wideout Laquon Treadwell is going to keep wearing No. 13.
Treadwell explained the situation while speaking with the media on Wednesday, saying, "I told him, ‘I respect the game. I know what you did in the number.’ Me and my family, we did a lot of praying about it as well. So, he was cool with me keeping the number."
Treadwell has a right to the number, of course, and maybe it makes sense for Allen, a potential Pro Football Hall of Famer, to wear a different number for the Colts for two different reasons. One is that he is having a bit of a career rebirth, and taking a different number is fitting.
Laquon Treadwell will continue to wear No. 13 for the Indianapolis Colts
The other is that, unfortunately, Allen has had a rocky start to his Indianapolis tenure due to a recent arrest for DWI. Not that the incident would have any influence on what decision Treadwell had, but maybe fans are content with the outcome.
Plus, while Treadwell has come nowhere near the career, especially in terms of offensive production, that Allen has had, he has been in Indy for several seasons now and finally found a long-term home. He was a first-round bust for the Minneapolis Vikings in 2016 and has had arguably his best seasons with the Colts wearing No. 13.
Allen will wear No. 10 now, and he was as understanding of what Treadwell decided as the latter let on. Allen is in no position to create locker room drama for the Colts, though he hasn't been known for doing that in his career. He likely won't start in Indy.
As for the two players' expectations this year, Keenan Allen is being counted on to be a high-quality WR3, taking the place of Michael Pittman Jr., who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers this past offseason due to the size of his substantial cap hit. Allen should be a good replacement for Pittman.
Anything Treadwell does offensively would be a positive, though his true role will be a good special-teams player. He has done just that the last two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, and the reason he remains on the roster is because of his prowess in the third phase of the game.
No matter which part of the game they are excelling in, Indy fans can tell the difference in the jersey numbers. Laquon Treadwell is No. 13, and the new guy is No. 10.
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