Styles looked to the franchise's past for inspiration, and there are plenty of reminders in the linebackers' position room. There are pictures of players like London Fletcher, LaVar Arrington, Ken Harvey and Monte Coleman hanging on the walls. Each player is among the best to wear the burgundy and gold, not just for their production on the field, but for how they handled their careers with professionalism. There's something else they have in common: they all wore a number in the 50s.
That helped Styles narrow down the decision. Then he started thinking about the greatest linebackers outside of the franchise. He grew up watching Hall of Fame linebackers Ray Lewis and Patrick Willis, who have a combined 19 Pro Bowls and 12 First Team All-Pro selections between them. They're considered to be two of the best defenders in the last three decades, and both of them wore No. 52.
But there's one more detail that played a role in Styles' choice. The two numbers in 52 equal seven, which is where the Commanders picked Styles to help them reignite their defense. Styles thought that was "pretty cool," so when it was time for Styles to walk out of the facility for his first practice as a Commander, he was rocking the No. 52 in the burgundy jersey worn by all of Washington's defensive players.
There's a possibility Styles' jersey number will change by the time he makes his regular-season debut for Washington in September, but it's worth noting that he seems committed to No. 52. It's a way for him to honor the linebackers who have come before him while also carving out a new legacy, and there are high expectations for what that legacy will look like in the years to come.
Styles has a good approach to viewing external expectations; the expectations he has for himself are already high, and anyone else's expectations can't exceed those.
"I think when you look at it like that, it's like, why would you feel pressure for anyone else?" Styles said. "If you have high expectations for yourself, and you're always attacking and striving to get better, the outside world, what they think or expect of you doesn't really faze you."