Mac Jones has looked like a legitimate quarterback during New England Patriots training camp, with one exception. And you can now cross that exception off the list.
The rookie quarterback, who had been wearing No. 50 in the team's tradition of giving first-year players odd numbers during its offseason program, was officially given No. 10 on Thursday ahead of the Patriots' preseason opener against the Washington Football Team at Gillette Stadium.
Jones' choice is hardly a surprise: He wore No. 10 in high school and in college at Alabama, and the number is available after wide receiver Damiere Byrd joined the Chicago Bears in free agency.
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Jones is the first Patriots quarterback to don No. 10 since Jimmy Garoppolo. Tom Brady also wore the digits at Michigan before switching to No. 12 in New England.
While Jones is the headliner, the biggest surprise might be wide receiver Tre Nixon taking Rob Gronkowski's No. 87. No Patriots player had worn 87 since Gronkowski's last year with the team in 2018, and it's not hard to envision New England retiring his number.
Then again, the Patriots gave wide receiver Devin Ross No. 87 when he joined the team earlier this offseason. Ross was subsequently released, and Nixon is far from a lock to make the roster as the team's seventh-round draft pick.
New England Patriots
Check out the full list of Patriots rookie numbers below:
| No. 3 | K Quinn Nordin |
| No. 10 | QB Mac Jones |
| No. 34 | S Joshuah Bledsoe |
| No. 38 | RB Rhamondre Stevenson |
| No. 45 | LB Cameron McGrone |
| No. 51 | OLB Ronnie Perkins |
| No. 68 | OL Will Sherman |
| No. 70 | DT Christian Barmore |
| No. 87 | WR Tre Nixon |