Lamar wants No. 1 jersey… after winning Super Bowl with Ravens originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Lamar Jackson wants to retire two jersey numbers when all is said and done with his Ravens career.
Before testing positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday and subsequently having to enter protocols to miss the first 10 days of Baltimore’s training camp, Jackson joined the Ravens Podcast Network to drop this captivating bit of jersey news.
“If we win the Super Bowl, I’m going No. 1,” Jackson said. “That’s my original number.”
Jackson revealed the important symbolism behind each number selection, both deriving from what his parents told him growing up.
“My dad told me to get No. 1 because that’s the best, like you the best, and it always stuck with me,” Jackson said.
When Jackson arrived at Louisville, though, it came after four stellar years wearing Michael Vick’s No. 7 at Boynton Beach high school.
“And I got No. 8 when I got to college, and my then my mom told me No. 8 stands for new beginnings,” Jackson remembered. “I was like, ‘Dang, it’s new beginnings.’ So I kept 8. Coach asked me what number I wanted and I was like I wanted No. 8, but y’all gave me No. 1 but it’s all good because I know what 8 stands for now.”
After a solid freshman year full of new beginnings at Louisville, Jackson became the youngest-ever Heisman winner in 2016 to show that he didn’t need to wear the No. 1 jersey to be recognized as the best. Jackson again proved the same wearing No. 8 with the Ravens, becoming the second unanimous MVP in NFL history when he won the award in 2019.
There have been 139 numbers retired in the NFL, and Jackson ambitiously wants to add two more to that list.
“I wanna retire No. 8 and No. 1 here at the Ravens,” Jackson said. “I want to win a Super Bowl with No. 8 on, and do as much as I can with No. 8 on, and then do the same thing with No. 1 on.”
Through 46 career games, Jackson has accomplished plenty wearing his current number: passing for 7,068 yards and 68 touchdowns, plus another 2,906 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
The Ravens are one of only six NFL teams without any retired numbers in their franchise’s history. Jackson’s desire to not only have one of his jersey numbers hanging up at M&T Bank Stadium, but two, shows his unrelenting aspiration for greatness.
