Jahmyr Gibbs has already become one of the most popular players on the Detroit Lions. His jersey is among three Lions players (Aidan Hutchinson and Amon-Ra St. Brown), that ranked in the top 10 of NFL jersey sales last year. His performance on the field has also won numerous fantasy football championships, 1,412 rushing yards with 20 total touchdowns last season.
Mix in the fact that he plays for a Super Bowl contender and has a catchy “Sonic” nickname to go with his running mate David “Knuckles” Montgomery and it’s not a surprise that fans love the 23-year-old. But they may have felt something when the Lions announced that Gibbs will be among several players changing their number ahead of the 2025 season.
Included in Detroit’s new jersey numbers for the coming season is Jahmyr Gibbs’: the Lions RB now will wear the No. 0. pic.twitter.com/0qRUWxaCvM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2025
Gibbs revealed his thoughts on the matter shortly after the team announced the change and why he decided to make the change.
Jahmyr Gibbs Says He Hated Wearing His Old Number With Lions
Gibbs broke into the league as the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft but didn’t have his choice of a number. While he wore Nos. 1 and 21 at Georgia Tech and No. 1 at Alabama, Gibbs was saddled with the No. 26 for his first two seasons in Detroit.
It seemed like a random choice and Gibbs confirmed it by saying he hated wearing No. 26 on his Instagram story Thursday.
Jahmyr Gibbs via Instagram:
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) April 3, 2025
“I hated 26 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣”
😭 pic.twitter.com/0AdRiNqwpW
The move was part of a slew of number changes that were announced by the Lions. Terrion Arnold wore the No. 0 but has moved to No. 6 for next season, allowing Gibbs to take his old number. Jameson Williams was also part of the changes as he’ll switch to the No. 1 he wore during his lone season at Alabama.
But while those numbers have some history, Gibbs still feels random. Did he pick No. 0 because of the loops his video-game counterpart runs through? Or does he think it just looks cool while he’s running back opposing defenders? Maybe he just wanted to change things up or cash in on the wave of Lions fans who are about to drop triple-digits trying to keep their gameday wardrobe current before getting his next contract.
No matter what, Gibbs seems happy he’s not wearing his old number and the Lions hope it’s a case of looking good and playing well for the third-year pro.