One of the greatest football players to ever suit up for the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick, wore number 7 on his jersey.
That’s the same digit currently worn by superstar running back Bijan Robinson in Atlanta. The number hasn’t been retired by the Falcons, although if Robinson keeps this up, it might be down the road.
For now, Robinson is simply continuing to put himself and the Falcons on the map by being one of the most impressive and talented running backs in football.
He’s lined up for some serious national exposure in the weeks ahead, as Atlanta is lined up with three consecutive primetime games.
He’ll attempt to put on a show, and he’ll do it while wearing that single-digit 7 on his uniform.
Why Does Bijan Robinson Wear Number 7?
Robinson wore the number 5 in his college career at Texas, but he couldn’t have that in Atlanta because Drake London already wore the digit.
So when Robinson arrived as a rookie, he needed something different. He wanted to stick with the single digit, so he went with 7.
“My reason was, it’s biblical, my faith is the biggest thing for me,” Robinson told the Falcons’ official website after making the choice.
The number 7 does indeed show up in the Bible many times, including in the form 77 — which is the amount of times Jesus tells Peter that he must forgive others in the Gospel of Matthew.
When Robinson chose 7, it meant he was joining a strong list of past players who had worn that digit in Atlanta, too.
At the time he took it, he actually had to get the number from kicker Younghoe Koo, who had worn it until graciously handing it off to Robinson.
“I asked Younghoe, even Vick,” Robinson said at the time. “It’s big because there’s legendary dudes in this program that have worn it the right way. If I can just carry it on, that would be more of a blessing… Hopefully we can talk about some special stuff in the future with it.”
Falcons’ History of Number 7
The Falcons have had a total of nine players wear the number 7, including Robinson.
Wade Traynham was a kicker in the ’60s who wore it first.
It then went to six quarterbacks in a row: Pat Sullivan, Hugh Millen, Perry Klein, Browning Nagle, Tony Graziani and then Vick.
Vick’s time in 7 with Atlanta ended in 2006, and Koo didn’t pick the number up until 2019.
Robinson grabbed the digit for himself in 2023 and has run with it since.
It seems likely that Bijan will stick with lucky number 7 his whole career in Atlanta given how well he has performed in it so far.
And maybe one day, it’ll finally get a spot up in the rafters at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Why Bijan Robinson Wears Number 7 For Falcons Despite Michael Vick History