De'Zhaun Stribling enters his first NFL season with massive hype, as the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver won a starting job while drawing huge praise from the likes of Brock Purdy and George Kittle. The Ole Miss product made a peculiar decision ahead of the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, however.
After a phenomenal training camp in jersey No. 15, Stribling switched to No. 7 on Aug. 31. If the number sounds familiar, it's because Daejon Love claimed to wear it in the bizarre scandal in which he allegedly posed as a 49ers player to scam women.
Here's why Stribling decided to make the change despite all the weirdness surrounding Love.
Why did De'Zhaun Stribling change his jersey number to No. 7?
Stribling told reporters he switched to No. 7 because he wore the number in high school, and he's hoping
it'll make him more comfortable in his first NFL season. The 33rd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft still acknowledged the oddity of sharing the number with Love.
“Yeah, that’s hilarious,” Stribling said. “It’s kind of crazy, but it’s cool at the same time.”
The 49ers are expecting big things out of Stribling, who'll make his NFL debut against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia tonight.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why is De'Zhaun Stribling wearing Daejon Love's fake 49ers jersey number?
