Patriots: Jalen Mills announces number change and it’s very cool

Entering last week, the New England Patriots were one of a few teams in the NFL that hadn’t had any players take advantage of the new loosened jersey restrictions.

Over the last few days, however, that count increased to two players.

On Monday night, defensive back Jalen Mills, who inked a four-year, $24 million deal with the Patriots this offseason, took to Twitter in extremely cool fashion to reveal he’ll be wearing a new number next season.

Not sure any of us were ready to purchase a Mills jersey per se, but…it’s certainly a better look for someone who’s going to be a vocal member of the Boogeymen this year.

Unlike most players in the league who’ve opted to change numbers thus far, Mills’ switch actually doesn’t pay homage to his college roots.

The fifth-year pro, who donned No. 21 with the Eagles and No. 28 at LSU, will rep the No. 2 jersey with the Patriots.

Patriots DB Jalen Mills revealed he’s changing his jersey number.

We’re not entirely sure what inspired Mills’ decision, but perhaps it was something as straightforward as a change of scenery. After all, he spent the first five seasons of his career with the Eagles and will now be embarking on a new journey in New England.

Whatever the case, Mills changing his jersey number makes him the second member of the Patriots’ defense to do so. Last week, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley made the switch from No. 58 to No. 8, which he sported during his college days at Purdue. That’s sure to anger Tom Brady.

Some fans might consider that a random fact, but it actually ties into the Patriots’ most recent roster transaction.

On Monday night, New England re-signed veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal. Unfortunately for the 35-year-old QB, Mills’ and Bentley’s respective decisions to change their jersey numbers has left him without a number for the time being.

Hoyer wore No. 8 during his first stint with the Patriots. That, of course, was claimed by Bentley a few days ago. As we know, the former undrafted talent repped No. 2 last year, but that’s now off the table after Mills officially claimed it on Monday night.

As it turns out, signing this late in the offseason has a downside. Who knew?

In all seriousness, the story here is Mills’ jersey change. For as cool as the reveal was — we seriously can’t get enough of that cartoon — Patriots fans won’t really care for it if he doesn’t live up to his surprisingly lucrative contract.

For a player who’s coming off a strong final year with the Eagles in which he logged a 68.9 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus and will have the luxury of playing alongside some standout players on the Patriots defense (that wasn’t the case in Philadelphia), we’re fully expecting Mills to prove to be a quality signing for New England.

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