Who Wore It Best, Part 2

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May 11, 2020

By Noonefromtampa

Welcome to Part 2 of my new offseason column series that will reflect back on the jersey numbers worn by former and current Redskins players.  Last week’s column raised some questions around the jersey numbers zero and double zero. I found only two documented cases of a Redskins player wearing zero: Steve Bagarus, a running back who played in the 40’s, and Johnny Olszewski, a fullback, who played 1958 to 1960.  There are no documented cases of a Redskins player wearing double zero.

This week, we’ll look at jerseys numbered from 10 to 19.

Jersey #10

Jersey #10 has been popular through the years with different players, mainly wide receivers and quarterbacks, plus kicker John Hall. The wide receivers were fairly pedestrian, Jabar Gaffney and Paul Richardson. The quarterback list covers multiple decades, from Jay Schroeder, Jeff Rutledge, and Trent Green to Robert Griffin III.  Of this group, the player who wore it best was Robert Griffin III who, in 2012, had the best season for a Redskins quarterback in a long time. His key 2012 stats:

  • 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year
  • 3,200 yards passing, 20 TDs, 5 INTs
  • 815 yards rushing, 7 TDs
  • NFC East Division title
  • Playoff appearance

Jersey #11

This is another jersey that has both wide receivers and quarterbacks competing for the title of who wore it best. Wide receivers include Aldrick Robinson, Terrelle Pryor, Devin Thomas, and DeSean Jackson. Of that group Jackson played the best during his time as a Redskin. Quarterbacks include Kim McQuilken, Jim Ninowski, Patrick Ramsey, and Mark Rypien. The choice here comes down to Jackson versus Rypien and the winner is Rypien. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mark who is believed to be suffering from CTE.

His key stats:

  • All-time Redskins quarterback rankings
    • Fifth in passing yards with 15,928
    • Fifth in touchdown passes with 101
    • Fourth in pass attempts with 2,207
    • Fifth in pass completions with 1,244
  • Pro Bowl in 1989 and 1991
  • Super Bowl MVP in 1992

Jersey #12

In this group there is a kicker/punter, Steve Cox, wide receivers Malcolm Kelly (who also wore 14) and Andre Roberts (who played better everywhere but here), and a number of quarterbacks including Tom Flick, Gary Conklin, Gus Frerotte and Kirk Cousins (who switched to 8). From this list, Kirk Cousins gets the nod, even though his biggest numbers came when wearing number 8.

Jersey #13

This group has some preseason all-star wide receivers in Anthony Armstrong, Maurice Harris, Derrius Thompson, and Nick Williams. But the player who wore it best is Jake Scott, who came in free agency to the Redskins and played from 1976 to 1978 garnering 14 interceptions.

Jersey #14

This group is a hodgepodge of players including quarterbacks Dick Shiner (a backup QB) and Brad Johnson, wide receivers Ryan Grant and Trey Quinn, plus kickers/punters Cary Blanchard, Durant Brooks, James Tuthill, and Max Zendejas. The best player to wear #14 is Eddie LeBaron, but he comes before my 1960 cutoff, so the best player of the modern era is Brad Johnson, who came within a botched field goal attempt of taking the Redskins to the 2000 NFC title game.

Jersey #15

Nobody in the modern era has distinguished themselves with this number. In the entire history of the franchise, the best player is Jim Barber, a tackle who played in the 30’s and 40’s. Some of the players who wore the number and underwhelmed include quarterbacks Todd Collins, Jeff Hostetler, Mike Kruczek and wide receiver Josh Morgan.

Jersey #16

An eclectic group of players have worn this number: Brandon Banks (WR), Gary Beban (QB), Scott Blanton (K), Jehu Chesson (WR), Rich Gannon (QB), Stan Humphries (QB), Colt McCoy (QB), Richie Petitbon (S), Ed Rubbert (QB), Norm Snead (QB). Norm gets the nod as the player wore it best, because of his statistics, and as an added bonus, the team received Sonny Jurgenson in trade return for him.  Of special note is Ed Rubbert, who along with Tony Robinson led the Redskins to a 3-0 record while the replacement players played during the 1987 strike season.

Jersey #17

The Redskins have a hall-of-fame player with this number, Turk Edwards, who played tackle (1932-40) and was also an assistant (1941-45) and head coach (1946-48) for the Redskins. In the modern era we have Jason Campbell (QB), Michael Floyd (WR), John Friesz (QB), Billy Kilmer (WR), Harry Theofiledes (QB), Doug Williams (QB) and Danny Wuerffel (QB). This group comes down to Kilmer, who led the Redskins to a Super Bowl appearance in 1972 and led them for seven years and Williams, who won a Super Bowl in 1988 and was the game’s MVP but had a short tenure as a player. I could call this a tie, but I will go with Doug Williams.

Jersey #18

This is another underwhelming group of players: Terrence Austin (WR), Josh Doctson (WR), Lance Lewis (WR) and perennial backup Sam Wyche (QB). No “wore it best” gets awarded here, not even for an historical player.

Jersey #19

We end this list with another pack of underperforming players, including wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe, Robert Davis, Anthony Mix, Rashad Ross, and Donté Stallworth, plus punter Tom Tupa. No modern era player measures up; however, the Redskins best ever with this number was end Charley Malone, who played in the 30’s and 40’s and racked up 137 receptions for 1,932 yards with 13 touchdowns in eight seasons. That is how much the game has changed over the last 80 plus years – those numbers by Malone are about a season’s worth in today’s NFL.

Next week, we will review jersey numbers twenty through twenty-nine.