Buffalo Bills: The No. 32 jersey is now being worn once again

The Buffalo Bills have not let a player wear No. 32 since O.J. Simpson. That appears to be changing in 2019, which is odd timing.

Most NFL teams have jersey numbers that are unofficially retired.

That is the case with the Buffalo Bills as well. For the Bills, the No. 32 jersey has not been worn since O.J. Simpson. At first it was likely to honor him. The reasoning shifted after June 17, 1994.

Then some news broke earlier today that someone in Buffalo will be wearing the No. 32 once again.

That individual is Senorise Perry, who is currently one of seven running backs on the roster. So if I had to guess, the No. 32 won’t be on the field during the regular season. Unless Perry sneaks on as a special teamer.

The No. 32 would have been retired by now if not for obvious off-the-field reasons involving Simpson. Since that will likely never happen it made sense to just unofficially retire it and not speak of the number.

But enough time has passed to wear younger generations have no connection with the number and don’t even know who Simpson is or was. The timing is just a bit odd to me, though I would probably feel that way whenever someone started wearing the number again.

Simpson last wore a Bills uniform during the 1977 season. Any comments about Perry wearing the number will only come when he firsts steps on the field with it on. If he does make the roster, the story will go away. It’s not like he is wearing the number to honor Simpson.

The passing of time doesn’t erase the past. But it helps makes things like this less controversial and turn the No. 32 back into just a number.