“0 or 7”: Free Agent Odell Beckham Jr. Reacts to NFL Playing Rules Amidst Patrick Mahomes Reservations

The NFL offseason is notorious for being a time of upheaval and transformation, and this year is no different. The league has unveiled a slew of new rules and regulations for the upcoming season, shaking things up and leaving players and franchises alike scrambling to adapt. Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes is disappointed over a particular new rule, while enigmatic wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr is facing a whole new set of challenges.

As a free agent, OBJ is still on the lookout for a suitable destination for the 2023 season. While many teams might be interested in his services, a seemingly innocuous rule change has thrown the WR into a dilemma.

Odell Beckham Jr can’t decide on a jersey number

Odell Beckham Jr is confused. While he may not know which team’s jersey he’ll don next season, he’s worried about which jersey number to wear when he takes the field. He shared this predicament in a short and succinct tweet.

OBJ’s problem arises from the fact that the NFL has changed its jersey rules. Now a player can wear 0 as their jersey number. OBJ has worn two numbers to date in his football career, 3 and 13. But he is looking at the number 7 like his soccer partial namesake David Beckham or the number 0, the new digit in the NFL town.

This isn’t the only rule that is going to change. The NFL has also decided to expand the replay officials’ jurisdiction to include a review for failed fourth-down conversions. They have also tinkered with some other rules to streamline the officiating. But it is a new scheduling rule that may not go down well with players and coaches. Patrick Mahomes has already registered his disappointment at the schedule changes.

Patrick Mahomes’ disappointment

Patrick Mahomes is disappointed with the NFL on a schedule rule change. The league has raised the number of Thursday Night Football games a team can play in a season. While earlier each franchise got one TNF game to deal with, now they got two.

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The Kansas City Chiefs QB showed his disappointment through a tweet. And all it took from him to disapprove of the rule change was a slap on the face emoji. The Thursday night slot for the NFL isn’t traditionally popular with the players and fans. The players dislike it as it has a very short turnaround from the previous game that often falls on a Sunday. But the NFL commissioner dismissed all the concerns regarding it. 

“The data doesn’t show higher injury rate. I hear from players who also love the 10 days after a Thursday Night game. We have to try to balance all of it, ” Roger Goodell said.

So, the NFL has gone for a little bit of change to spice up the upcoming season. What do you think of all these new changes? What about OBJ’s predicament? Which jersey number do you think the WR would suit? Let us know in the comments below. 

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