Caleb Harris
The numbers ‘2’ and ‘5’ have significant significance in Jayden Daniels’ football career. Number 2 is when he was drafted, going to the Washington Commanders with the 2024 second overall pick NFL Draft. The number 5 is the number he used in high school and college as he worked toward the ultimate goal of not just making the NFLbut becoming one of the top draft picks.
The number ‘5’ was also important to Commanders punter Tress Way, who is the team’s longest-tenured player and wore the number in each of his 10 seasons in Washington. Wearing the number, Way has been to two Pro Bowls and was named team captain four times. It’s understandable that Way would be at No. 5 – a jersey number Daniels also wants.
Way decided to give Daniels his number and use a new one for the first time in a decade, but he wasn’t just going to give it to the rookie who called. The veteran, who didn’t want money, says he has some “cool ideas” for the transaction. One idea is to have Daniels ask fans to send in photos wearing Way’s old jersey so the quarterback can buy those Commanders fans the punter’s new jersey. The exact details of the trade haven’t been finalized, but it will include Daniels getting Way and his family good seats for an Oklahoma-LSU football game.
Way said he felt it was the right move, giving his number to the promising rookie.
“I feel like there is a lot of enthusiasm around this organization, without a doubt the most I’ve ever seen,” Way said, via the team’s official website. “All the emotion [is] building and building and building. I just feel like this is… a very small part that I could do.”
Way said he initially said he would keep the number, noting that he didn’t want his captain’s badge to be filled with a different number if he was, in fact, nominated for the leadership role again. The number is more to him than just something sewn onto a shirt; He says it represents a crucial part of his career, coming to Washington and, in his opinion, feeling “wanted” for the first time.
Speaking about what the team and jersey number mean to him, Way said “this is harder than I thought.”
“Full disclosure, I told them ‘no’ right off the bat… and it just didn’t feel right,” he said. Excited, he remembers a conversation with his wife, where she asked him how he got that “C” on her shirt. Remembering that leadership is more important than numbers, Way wanted to make the change to support the team.
“This is just a small part I can do,” he said.
Way said he’ll be there for Daniels on fourth down if they have to hand the ball off, and he wanted to be here to help him now too, saying that as a rookie he can imagine there’s a lot going on in his head as he prepares. for his NFL debut.
While Way hasn’t yet decided on a new number, he notes that it will be an odd number and admitted that it wasn’t easy to ditch his old digits.
“It’s a huge shame to give up that number,” Way said. “But I feel like it’s a bite I should take anyway. I feel like it’s the right thing.”
Way joked that he might try to get some of his teammates’ current jerseys, saying, “My son, Beau, he has a No. 5 jersey and he also has two other jerseys. He has a 39 for [Jeremy Reaves] and 17 for Terry [McLaurin]. So maybe I could go get one of her shirts.”
While wearing number 5, Way had a 6.2% touchback rate, an average of 46.9 yards per punt, and 37.7% of his punts landing inside the 20-yard line.
