Safe to say Jayden Daniels is just going to have to deal with seeing his number on the field.
In case you missed, the quarterback for the Washington Commanders suffered what may be the greatest self-inflicted wound to his reputation that we’ve ever seen last week when he sent a cease and desist letter to LSU, demanding that they stop using his name, image and likeness in their promotional materials.
According to a spokesman for Daniels, the demand came because the quarterback felt “profoundly disrespected” when LSU allowed sophomore quarterback DJ Pickett to wear the #5 jersey this season – the same number Daniels wore during his time in Baton Rouge:
“The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player. Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university.
Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected. His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU.”
Apparently Daniels felt that his jersey number should be retired, given that he won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 while leading his team to a 9-3 record before opting out of the Reliaquest Bowl against Wisconsin. But according to new Tigers coach Lane Kiffin, Pickett had been promised the #5 while being recruited by former LSU head coach Brian Kelly’s staff, before being forced to wear #3 last year, so Kiffin only felt it right that the school honor that promise. (Which may be true, or Pickett may have threatened to transfer if he wasn’t given the #5 this year. Who knows the real story).
Regardless, the entire situation has been a terrible look for Daniels, who even reportedly demanded that LSU return their copy of his Heisman Trophy. And Daniels has been the butt of a lot of jokes since the controversy exploded, with everybody joking about his apparent belief that only he can use the #5.
Brutal. Terrible look for Daniels.
As for LSU, the university seems to be standing by their decision to allow Pickett to wear the #5. Addressing the controversy himself, the sophomore cornerback indicated that he had no intention of giving up the number just because a former player (or probably more accurately, his sports agent mother) is whining about it:
“I wore that number my whole life, since I was four years old. It’s the number I was promised. I wish Jayden the best. Good player. Did real good here. So that’s all.”
And today, with LSU football in training camp right now ahead of their season opener, the social media team decided that today was the day to highlight…DJ Pickett.
LSU football posted a video highlighting Pickett’s interception from practice, captioning it, “He just keeps making plays.”
Of course everybody immediately realized what they were doing, because there’s no way the timing of that one is coincidental, and the jokes immediately began to fly once again:
Jayden Daniels watching that jersey # like pic.twitter.com/p3YeoPnRik
— Blake Allen Murphy (@blakemurphy7) August 18, 2026
Yeah, not exactly subtle. But then again, maybe don’t whine because your jersey wasn’t retired when you didn’t even win a national championship during your time at the school. If his goal was to have his jersey retired, he should have gone to Colorado.
