The Steelers have unofficially retired several numbers; 12, 36, 32, 58, 59, 86, 88.... .
in honor of the great Emmanuel Sanders?
Anyway, I generally oppose retiring jerseys. At the rate NFL teams are retiring jerseys, they're gonna have to move to three digits soon. I also like the idea of numbers being around for future players to pick up and continue the legacy (ala 88 in Dallas). Instead of taking the number out of commission, just hang the player's jersey in the stadium and enter them into the team ring of honor/hall of fame - leaving the number available for issue.
I do think exceptions can be made though and Joe Greene is an obvious one. Perhaps a good compromise would be for teams to only retire numbers of players admitted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I think that's what New England said their policy is now.
On another note, it's about time that the NFL lifts the position specific numbering system. Eligible receivers have to report anyway. Let the WRs wear single digits! It looks so mean in college...
