Current 49er Wearing Rice’s #80

[GreenBat]

Issac Bruce could wear #80 for Niners

Isaac Bruce should not do this. He should not even have Number close to Rice. He should take #17 or some off number like that. Id respect him a lot more if he DID NOT wear #80 forthe Cardinal and Gold.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---Considering each team has about 60 players including practice players each year and there are only 99 numbers [ 101 if 0 and 00 were allowed ]....There just is no way to retire numbers without going to three digits number. 22 for the cowboys has been used by "Bullet" Bob Hayes, Emmitt Smith and some other.. Likely the best a team can do is retire the number for a short period [ 5-10 years] until it is needed again.

---Besides Bruce is not exactly some rookie either ... He is #6 on the all-time NFL reception list, Rice is first. Only Marvin Harrison among active players has more. Bruce is #3 on the total yardage reception list ---- behind Rice and Tim Brown....... He has earned to right to wear the number he has always worn.

Other soap box..... Bob Hayes belongs in the NFL Hall of Fame. He greatly impacted the game and because of his speed changed the way defense was played and is played today. He may not have had the greatest hands ever but he scored a lot and was the fastest player to ever play in the NFL... after all he won the gold medal for the 100 meter dash at the Olympics. From then on NFL teams sought even faster players. He changed the game.

[forevereagle]

I think i am going to agree with Screaming Eagle, there are only so many numbers that can be worn. The team has not retired it, so Bruce hasn't done anything wrong. He isn't some upstart rookie, so he has earned the right. Plus, it's not like Rice played his whole career with SF. He moved on, and so should the team.

[Bryan316]

Jerry Rice got permission from Steve Largent to wear 80 in Seattle, so it would be very hypocritical for Rice to tell Isaac Bruce he can't wear 80 as a 49er.