A number can tell a story in the NFL.
Whether it’s a touchdown for six points, or the uniform number of the playmaker hitting pay dirt, those digits on the scoreboard or in your program on Sundays have meaning behind them.
Just ask Panthers head coach Dave Canales.
During his college playing days at Azusa Pacific, he wore No. 81 for his first four years with the program. But he wanted to wear his high school number — 17 — with the Cougars.
During the training camp of his redshirt senior year, he finally brought up his desire to wear No. 17 to his teammate, punter Kevin Quon.
Quon, who was in the same class as Canales, had been wearing No. 17, and it turned out that Canales was wearing Quon’s prized number.
“We were kind of shocked that we hadn’t had this conversation before,” Canales recalled.
So, the pair decided to trade digits for their final college seasons.
Canales initially picked No. 17 in high school because it was the number of Jeff Waters, a standout defensive back at Carson High School who went on to have a college career at Iowa State.
The number has since held significant meaning within the Canales household, from his wife, Lizzy, to his children.
“A lot of my kids wear 17,” Canales said. “It’s kind of a family number. Lizzy did, too, in soccer when she was younger.”
Here are the stories behind the numbers, as told to The Observer by players in the locker room this week.
No. 7: Tre’von Moehrig wants to own his number
Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig grew up wearing No. 14 to honor his mother, Kandace, who had worn that number during her athletic career. Eventually, though, Moehrig got the itch to create his own numerical legacy.
He decided to split his mom’s number in half and chose No. 7 as his own. According to Moehrig, he gravitated toward No. 7 for several reasons, but he summed up the number’s meaning with a sense of spirituality on Monday.
“Really, it’s just the number of completeness,” Moehrig said.
Moehrig wore No. 17 to start his career at TCU before switching to No. 7 during his final run with the program. He was a big fan of then-Arizona Cardinals do-it-all defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who wore No. 7 at LSU during his standout college career.
Moehrig was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. At the time, veteran wideout Zay Jones owned the No. 7, so Moehrig picked No. 25 with two plus five equaling his lucky number seven.
Moehrig made the switch back to No. 7 last season in Las Vegas. When he got to Charlotte in March, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney owned the number. His release following the draft, however, opened up 7 for Moehrig to claim.
No. 13: Hunter Renfrow’s Clemson journey shapes his decision
Hunter Renfrow’s football journey has been through plenty of twists and turns.
Just last week, for instance, he was cut by the Panthers after making a valiant NFL comeback attempt following a year of battling ulcerative colitis. But he re-signed with the team on Monday and he’s back in his No. 13 jersey, which he originally started wearing during his college career at Clemson.
But before Renfrow became a household name, he was a Tigers walk-on, who was given No. 35. Just like his spot on the Clemson roster, Renfrow had to earn a more traditional wide receiver number.
“I was number 7 in high school because my dad was number 7 in college and high school,” Renfrow said.
Renfrow soon became part of the ever-spinning carousel of talented slot receivers for the Tigers. As he began to ascend within the program, he drew comparisons to the slot receivers who came before him, Tyler Grisham and Adam Humphries.
Grisham played for the Tigers from 2005 to 2008. Humphries arrived in 2011 and played until 2014 before heading to the NFL in 2015. Both players wore No. 13. Naturally, Renfrow was the next in line to inherit the number.
“So, I just showed up one day and they gave me number 13,” Renfrow said.
Renfrow never asked to wear No. 13, but it became a comfortable part of his football presentation. Renfrow wore the number throughout his Pro Bowl tenure with the Raiders. The 2019 fifth-round pick amassed 269 catches for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns during his five-year run with the AFC West franchise.
After taking a year off to improve his health, Renfrow was adamant about playing for the Panthers. He wanted to remain somewhat local, and his number is a nod to his Clemson journey.
“It’s better than number 35,” Renfrow said with a smile.
No. 22: Lathan Ransom’s ode to his father
Fourth-round pick Lathan Ransom was a standout defensive back and special teams ace at Ohio State. The Tuscon, Arizona, native helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship in January with the No. 8 draped across his chest.
But originally, Ransom arrived in Columbus, Ohio with another number: 12.
In Carolina, he wears neither number. The rookie safety couldn’t get No. 8 because it belongs to Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn. And No. 12 isn’t the most appealing number for a defensive back.
So, Ransom decided to use some creativity with his first NFL number, while also creating an ode to his father, Nathan.
“I really just like ‘Deuce Deuce,’ like the nickname,” Ransom said. “Growing up, my dad was (number) four, so two plus two equals four. That’s really why I picked 22.”
Ransom had the opportunity to grab No. 12 and give himself a throwback look after the cut deadline last week. Instead, he’s sticking with No. 22 in the pros.
Said Ransom: “That was the best option for me.”
No. 32 and No. 56: Trevin Wallace, Christian Rozeboom have divine number swap
The Panthers’ starting inside linebackers made a serendipitous number swap in the spring.
Second-year defender Trevin Wallace desperately wanted to wear No. 32 after spending his rookie season in the meaningless No. 56. And Christian Rozeboom, who signed a free-agent deal in March, had worn No. 56 since he had entered the league.
With the offseason program starting in May, the No. 32 jersey opened up.
Wallace was reunited with the number he had worn since before high school. Wallace’s father had chosen the number for him as a child after a night of prayer.
“There was one night where the man above told him, ‘This is the number that is gonna bless him through his journey,’” Wallace said. “And look where I’m at now.”
The 2024 third-round pick couldn’t wear the number last season as veteran defensive back Lonnie Johnson had already claimed it following free agency. While Wallace tried to embrace No. 56, his father’s words about No. 32 stayed in his mind.
“It was really tough,” Wallace said about wearing No. 56 as a rookie.
But things worked themselves out, and Rozeboom was able to inherit No. 56 from Wallace as he made his own jersey decisions.
Rozeboom was assigned No. 56 when he signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted rookie in 2020. While the number originally had little importance to Rozeboom, it eventually became meaningful because of what he had done while wearing it.
“Actually, the first year of me playing was when we won Super Bowl LVI (56), and I was in 56, so that was kind of cool,” Rozeboom said. “And all of my family had a bunch of (number) 56 stuff. So, when I got here, Trev moved to 32, so it was just easy to move to.”
Given Wallace’s spiritual ties to No. 32, it might have felt like a divine twist of fate for the pair to come together in Carolina. While it might have just been a coincidence, both are happy to be reunited with their familiar digits.
“It was crazy though,” Wallace said with huge smile. “It played out real good.”
No. 72: Taylor Moton honors late grandfather
When Taylor Moton arrived at Western Michigan in 2012, he knew exactly what number he wanted to wear. After rocking No. 60 throughout his high school career, the offensive lineman jumped at the chance to claim No. 72 to honor his grandfather, Thomas Gunnings.
“My late grandfather wore number 72 when he was playing up at Winston-Salem State,” Moton said. “So, ever since then, it’s turned into, in my mind, a bit of a family number. So, it was really important that I was able to wear it in college and to this day. That number means a lot to me.”
Moton has worn No. 72 his entire adult life. The 2017 second-round pick has been honoring his mother’s father with his number and his play on the field, which recently led to a two-year, $44 million contract extension with the Panthers.
The longtime right tackle has played his entire nine-year career with the Panthers, working out to about 80 miles south of his grandfather’s alma mater. Wearing No. 72 has been a point of pride for himself, his mother and their family.
“It’s funny, I wanted to wear it in high school, but the jersey wasn’t big enough,” Moton said. “I was a big kid, and they only had number 60. It was the only thing that fit me. But you can make them custom in college, so it was a no-brainer — I had to pick that number.”
Short but sweet sentiments
No. 4: Tetairoa McMillan. The first-round pick wore No. 11 in eighth grade. He wanted to wear the number again in high school, but it was unavailable, so he went with No. 4. He has since worn No. 4 at the University of Arizona and with the Panthers.
No. 5: Rico Dowdle. The veteran running back has switched between No. 23 and No. 5 in both college and the NFL. He started his South Carolina career with No. 23 before switching to No. 5 — his number throughout his first three years of high school in Asheville — as a sophomore. During his five-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys, Dowdle wore No. 34 and No. 23. When he signed with the Panthers in March, he decided to make the leap back to No. 5.
No. 10: Ryan Fitzgerald. The rookie kicker wore No. 88 at Florida State and was given No. 35 during his first summer in Charlotte. On Monday, he switched to No. 10, which was his grandfather’s number in high school. He previously wore No. 88 because that was his father’s number in high school. Steve (grandfather) and Chad (father) Fitzgerald have both been honored by the next generation in the family.
No. 11: Nic Scourton. The second-round pick wore No. 5 at Purdue before wearing No. 11 at Texas A&M. According to the rookie outside linebacker, Scourton didn’t have much of a choice when selecting a number for the Aggies, as No. 5 was taken. Scourton wore No. 11 while playing high school basketball, so he embraced the number. With Dowdle wearing No. 5 in Carolina, Scourton laid claim to No. 11 in his first NFL season.
No. 57: Bam Martin-Scott. The undrafted rookie was given the number when he joined the team in May. However, his late grandmother was born in 1957, so he thinks of it as a sign from her.
No. 95: Derrick Brown. The two-time team captain wore No. 90 in high school and No. 5 in college. Defensive linemen aren’t allowed to wear single-digit numbers, and Julius Peppers famously wore No. 90 for the Panthers. “I wasn’t getting to wear that, so I wear 95.”