Over the weekend the Chiefs had a bunch of rookies and tryout players in camp. Since they all needed a jersey -- and a jersey number -- the Chiefs issued them numbers. Two of those numbers -- #68 and #88 -- held a special place in the heart of Kansas City.
Of course they are they numbers of Will Shields and Tony Gonzalez.
Well, as Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star noticed over the weekend, the Chiefs issues #68 and #88 to two players at the rookie minicamp. One was an undrafted free agent signed to the team (DL Garrett Brown) and the other to a tryout player.
As it turns out, the Chiefs placed a call to both Will Shields and Tony Gonzalez seeking permission to use the number, according to Teicher. Both players gave them their blessing. Shields said it was done in a "class-act way."
''A number is only a number," Shields told Teicher. "It served me well when I played but now it's someone else's turn. There's got to be someone wearing it before me and there's got to be someone wearing it afterward.''
I'm glad this is the way it turned out. I suspected the Chiefs would want to get their side of the story out there since it considerably changes the focus of the story.
(H/T WtexKC)