There were a lot of fans suggesting that, after wide receiver JoJo Ward was released -- and his jersey No. 14 was free -- that rookie wide receiver Rondale Moore would grab it. After all, Moore wore No. 4 in college, and while it wasn't exactly the same, it fit Moore better than the No. 85 he had been sporting since he arrived in Tempe. Veteran punter Andy Lee wore No. 4, a jersey he claimed a couple of years ago after first wearing the No. 2.
It turns out No. 14 did play a role in Moore changing numbers. There were just more steps involved.
Lee decided he would be willing to change to the No. 14, giving Moore the chance to change to his favored No. 4. No word yet if there was any compensation involved, but even if there was, it was still a nice gesture by Lee.
UPDATE: Coach Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Moore had to pay Lee for the switch. "He does not like spending money at all," Kingsbury said. "So it hurt him. But he was very happy to get the number."
Moore had said earlier in camp he had bought his mother a house as well.
"That's about it," Kingsbury said. "I don't think he's spent another dollar outside of that."
Like Andy Isabella's switch from No. 89 to No. 17 a couple years ago, Moore's decision makes it more unlikely there is a receiver with a number outside 1-19. Moore is in the single digits, followed in numerical order by DeAndre Hopkins (10), Christian Kirk (13), Isabella (17), A.J. Green (18) and KeeSean Johnson (19).
