Since before Tom Brady left the Patriots for the Bucs in 2020, fans have been begging New England to bring in a top-tier wide receiver for the new quarterbacks to work with. That has been the case for Cam Newton and Mac Jones, and now for Drake Maye. Although Romeo Doubs might not fit that label, he is still an upgrade over what the roster had.
For the most part, Patriots fans have welcomed him with open arms in the days since he signed a four-year contract, until they finally put together what jersey number he would likely wear: No. 87.
That is the number Doubs wore during his tenure in Green Bay, and as of Thursday afternoon, the receiver plans to continue with it in New England. The problem is that many Patriots fans are already expressing disgust over the idea, simply because Rob Gronkowski infamously donned that number on his chest for nine seasons.
Although the number isn't retired, fans are still having a strong reaction to Doubs choosing it, as if it were somehow ruled off-limits, and that could become problematic for him, as it has in the past for other players.
Romeo Doubs has gotten a lot of reactions from Patriots fans over the jersey number he chose
Because the dynasty years were so beloved, especially in hindsight, there is a general feeling that several jersey numbers should have been retired or, at the very least, excluded from being used unofficially.
That's the sentiment behind No. 87, so Doubs might be walking into a firestorm by choosing it.
It's something previous players on the team have dealt with, most recently tight end Mitchell Wilcox, who received so much negativity online for being given the number that he had to make a post about the nonsense on his social media.
Hopefully, that won't be in the cards for Doubs because it's just not that serious a problem, and it certainly doesn't warrant any harassment from fans, no matter how they feel about the number he will be wearing. Not to mention, tight end Jack Westover wore No. 87 during the 2025 season, and either it went over fans' heads, or, because he didn't take the field much, it wasn't a problem.
No matter what, Doubs has the right to wear whatever number he wants, and using a number connected to a legend, just as Gronkowski did in 2010 when he chose the number linked to Corey Dillon, is not disrespectful or wrong.