One of the newest Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker wore the No. 11 for the first seven seasons of his career, but that’s going to change for the 2022-2023 season. Evan Lazar of CLNS Media tweeted Parker’s Instagram story from July 19, showing that he will wear No. 1 this upcoming season.
Looks like DeVante Parker took N’Keal Harry’s jersey #1 instead of #11. Via Parker on IG. pic.twitter.com/EtKpfEU6LQ
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) July 19, 2022
N’Keal Harry wore that number last season, but he was recently traded to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 7th-round draft pick.
The move away from 11 could also represent a sign of respect to Julian Edelman, who sported the number for his entire 11-year career with the Patriots. An eventual retirement of Edelman’s jersey would not come as a surprise, seeing that he was the 2018 Super Bowl MVP and helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls.
It’s also interesting to see Parker in the locker room so early. This week is specified for rookies only, before the remainder of the team joins them for training camp next week. He could easily be going to the facility to do other things, but Parker could also be working with the rookies to get extra practice in.