CINCINNATI – Vonn Bell is going back to the future in more ways than one.
The Bengals announced the jersey numbers for their free agent signings, and the No. 24 Bell vacated when he left to sign with the Carolina Panthers is vacant after Cincinnati did not re-sign cornerback Sidney Jones IV.
Pair of New Bengals Will Wear New Numbers
Bell wore No. 48 during his first two seasons in New Orleans before switching to 24, which he wore all three seasons with the Bengals and again with the Panthers last season.
Fifteen other players, including Jones, have worn No. 24 for the Bengals.
Tommie Smith (1969), Ernie Kellermann (1972), Marvin Cobb (1975-79), Clarence Chapman (1980-81), Sean Thomas (1985), Lewis Billups (1986-91), Alan Grant (1993), Roger Jones (1994-96), Ric Mathias (1998-99), Sirr Parker (2000), Lamont Thompson (2002), Deltha O’Neal (2004-07), Geoffrey Pope (2008-09), Adam “Pacman” Jones (2010-2017), and Darius Phillips (2019).
🚨 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Vonn Bell is number 24. pic.twitter.com/NxAphfSGE7
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) April 10, 2024
Here are the numbers the other newcomers will be wearing in 2024:
Geno Stone, 22
The safety wore No. 26 all four seasons in Baltimore, but that currently belongs to Tycen Anderson, so Stone will wear No. 22.
That was the number worn by cornerback Chidobe Awuzie from 2021-23, but he signed with the Tennessee Titans last month.
Fourteen other Bengals wore No. 22.
Ted Washington (1968), Ken Sawyer (1974), Deacon Turner (1978-80), James Griffin (1983-85), Eric Thomas (1987-92), Marcello Simmons (1993), Jimmy Spencer (1996-97), Rodney Heath (1999-2001), Kim Herring (2004-05), Johnathan Joseph (2006-10), Nate Clements (2011-12), Curtis Marsh (2013), William Jackson III (2016-20), and Awuzie.
Zack Moss, 31
He wore No. 20 for 2+ seasons in Buffalo and switched to 21 when he was traded to Indianapolis.
The most recent Bengals player to wear No. 31 was safety Mike Thomas, who did not re-sign with the team this offseason.
Fifteen others wore No. 31 in Cincinnati.
Fletcher Smith (1968-71), Jerry Anderson (1977), Ralph Battle (1984), Lee Davis (1985), Gary Hunt (1987), Ickey Woods (1988, Games 1-8), Richard Fain (1991), Darryl Williams (1992-95; 2000-01), Greg Myers (1996-99), Jason Perry (2002), Jeremi Johnson (2003-08), Roy Williams (2009-10), Robert Sands (2011-12), Derron Smith (2016-17), and Thomas Rawls (2018).
Trent Brown, 77
The nine-year veteran has never worn any other number during his time with the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, or Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.
The most recent Cincinnati player to wear No. 77 was Hakeem Adeniji, who did so in 2021-22.
Eleven other Bengals have worn it.
Bob Kelly (1968), Frank Peters (1969), Bob Maddox (1974) Mike Wilson (1978-85), Mark Tigges (1987), Jim Rourke (1988), Scott Jones (1989, 1991), Kevin Sargent (1992-98), Victor Leyva (2001-03), Andrew Whitworth (2006-16), and Cordy Glenn (2018-19).
Mike Gesicki, 88
The tight end is sticking with his number after wearing No. 88 in New England in 2022 and in Miami in 2019-22. It’s also the number he wore in college at Penn State.
Gesicki wore No. 86 during his rookie year with the Dolphins before going back to 88.
Sixteen others have worn the number for the Bengals, with the most recent being Hayden Hurst in 2022.
Bruce Coslet (1969-76), Ricky Walker (1977-78), Mike Levenseller (1979-80), Mike Martin (1983-89), Reggie Rembert (1991-93), Derek Ware (1995), Steve Bush (1997-2000), Sean Brewer (2001-02), Lawrence Hamilton (2003), Cliff Russell (2004), Tab Perry (2005-07), J.P. Foschi (2009-10), Ryan Whalen (2011-13), Greg Little (2014), and Jordan Franks (2018).
Sheldon Rankins, 98
Four teams, zero number changes for Rankins. He wore No. 98 for five seasons with the New Orleans Saints, two with the New York Jets, and last year with the Houston Texans.
He also wore the number in college at Louisville, and he’ll don it again in 2024 for the Bengals, making him the 14th player in team history to do so.
David Grant (1988-91) Tony Savage (1992), George Hinkle (1993), Todd Kelly (1995-96), Canute Curtis (1997-2002) Elton Patterson (2003-04), Terrance Martin (2004, Games 8-16), Bryan Robinson (2005-07), Antwan Odom (2008-10), Nick Hayden (2011), Brandon Thompson (2013-16), Ryan Glasgow (2017-19), and DJ Reader (2020-23).
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