Ravens wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is going back to his old jersey number, after all.
Two weeks after “trolling” fans with a prank GoFundMe fundraiser for the cost of ditching his No. 15, Brown announced Wednesday that he’ll be wearing No. 5 in 2021. Brown’s the second Ravens veteran in as many days to get a new number, after linebacker Patrick Queen moved from No. 48 to No. 6 on Tuesday.
“Back in that Cinco,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “For everyone who copped that 15 I love and appreciate you , I will make that 5 worth it.”
Brown is the first Raven to wear No. 5 since quarterback Joe Flacco, who was traded after the 2018 season. At Oklahoma, where he first wore the number, Brown had 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns over two seasons before becoming a first-round pick in 2019.
Under a new NFL rule relaxing the restrictions on jersey numbers, wide receivers can now wear Nos. 1 to 49 and Nos. 80 to 89. As part of the NFL’s agreement with its manufacturing partners, however, players changing their number for this season must buy out the existing inventory of jersey distributors.
It’s unclear how much those changes could cost Brown and Queen. According to Pro Football Talk, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook decided to stick with No. 33 after learning that switching to No. 4 would cost about $1.5 million.
Notes: The Ravens announced that their Aug. 28 preseason finale against the Washington Football Team has been moved to 6 p.m. ... Backup long snapper Brian Khoury, who signed with the team in March, was waived.