Wide receiver Trent Taylor had already announced a switch from No. 81 to No. 15 when the San Francisco 49ers revealed the numbers for several new players on the roster. The reason became clear when it was announced that new wide receiver Jordan Matthews will wear No. 81 during the upcoming season.
Another notable player decided to switch his number. Linebacker Fred Warner, who wore No. 48 during his rookie campaign in 2018, will wear No. 54 going forward. He joined the latest 49ers Insider Podcast and explained the reason behind the number change.
"54 is kind of a number I thought about when I was entering the NFL, I guess, because you can't wear single digits like I did back at BYU," Warner explained to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. "I wore 4, so 54 seemed kind of fitting, but it was taken at the time. So it kind of opened up and I thought, you know what? I feel like that's what I wanted. That's what I'm going to continue the rest of my career with so that's why I made the change."
Warner wore No. 4 during his collegiate career at BYU, where he recorded 173 total tackles, 19.5 for a loss, 2.5 sacks, and four interceptions during his final two seasons.
"Single digits in college is just like the cool thing to do, I guess," Warner continued. "At BYU, we had some good linebackers who kind of started a tradition of wearing single digit numbers. Everybody knows Kyle Van Noy, who plays for the Patriots now. He was probably the best defensive player to ever come out of BYU, so I kind of followed up after him. He wore 3 and then I just followed up with 4 after my freshman year."
The 49ers made Warner a third-round selection last year. He registered 124 combined tackles, six passes defensed, and a forced fumble through 16 starts with the 49ers in 2018.
You can listen to the entire interview with Warner below.
