With Chad Ochocinco getting traded to the New England Patriots on Thursday night, the speculation immediately began Friday morning what would happen with his jersey number. His last name is Spanish for "eight five," so for him to wear any other jersey number would make him look a bit foolish. Well, a bit more foolish than someone who has "Ochocinco" on his back.
The suspense appears to be over, though, as Aaron Hernandez, who wore No. 85 for New England last year in his rookie season, had a new number in the team's afternoon practice session, according to NESN.com's Jeff Howe.
"Hernandez's shorts say 81 and Ochocinco's top has 85," Howe tweeted. "They reach a deal?"
Hernandez wore No. 81 while playing in college at Florida, but that number was taken last year by a certain receiver named Randy Moss. Generally, when a veteran player joins a new team, he offers something — money, watches, toys, dinners, etc. — to a player in exchange for the veteran's number, so you can expect reporters to hound the two players to see what it cost to get 85 on Ochocinco's back.
