We are 55 days away from the Kansas City Chiefs‘ season-opening game against the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1.
The No. 55 jersey will be worn by second-year defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott this season. He donned it for just five games during his rookie year before suffering a torn ACL in Week 7.
The number is tied with a few memorable players in Chiefs lore, some positive, some negative.
The 3 most memorable No. 55s in franchise history
E.J. Holub (1961 – 1970)
Frank Clark (2019 – 2022)
Dee Ford (2014 – 2018)
Holub was one of the original all-time Chiefs players, winning three AFL Championships
and one Super Bowl during his five-time Pro Bowl career. He was named to the first- or second-team All-Pro team four times, the first three as a linebacker. The fourth happened in the 1969 season, his second as the starting center after a mid-career position switch.
The all-time No. 55 was a career Chief, but Clark and Ford certainly made their mark on the modern dynasty.
In the moments leading up to a fourth-quarter interception of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the AFC Championship off the 2018 season, a flag sailed into the air at the snap of the ball. Ford aligned offsides, negating the pick and allowing a second life to the inevitable Patriots.
The unforgettable error led to two trades: one to send Ford away and another to acquire Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks. It ended up as an effective swap for the Chiefs for many reasons, one being Clark’s play in the clutch. Currently, Harvey Martin, Willie McGinest and Bruce Smith are the only players in NFL history with more career playoff sacks than Clark (13.5).
55: The number of passes thrown by Chris Oladokun last season
That was more than enough of a sample size in live action for the Chiefs to say goodbye to him this offseason, looking towards the draft for a new reserve quarterback to develop with seventh-round pick Garrett Nussmeier.
55 passes were also 55 too many for fans to stomach seeing from a quarterback besides Patrick Mahomes. It was a dreadful watch during the final three Mahomes-less games, a reminder of how dependent the team’s success is on “15.”
When severe enough of an injury to keep him sidelined, there’s a simple mindset to embrace in the words of former Colts offensive coordinator Bob Moore, who coached quarterback Peyton Manning (No. 18)
“If ‘18’ goes down, we’re f—d… we don’t practice f—d.’”
