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Luther Burden III offers hilarious reason for landing jersey No. 87
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Luther Burden III was a star sporting No. 3 at Mizzou. In Chicago, he’s having to sport a new number.
Burden will begin his career sporting double digits. The former Tiger standout will be No. 87 as a Bears rookie. He doesn’t seem particularly thrilled about the change, but has a sense of humor about the situation.
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Asked at a media opportunity about why No. 87, Burden didn’t sugarcoat his answer.
“All the good numbers are gone,” Burden told reporters, drawing laughs in the room.
#Bears WR Luther Burden III on why he's wearing No. 87: "All the good numbers are gone."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 9, 2025
(Chicago has 14 numbers retired)pic.twitter.com/EvKbFDbPEC
Under current NFL rules, Burden’s options as a wide receiver were 0-49 and 80-89. The Bears already have 14 jerseys retired, and there are some numbers that just don’t look right on wide receivers, so Burden’s options were somewhat limited.
We’ll see if he stays with 87 and tries to make it a thing or changes at some point down the road with the Bears or another team.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
