Lions' pick Gabe Wright inherits Suh's No. 90

There was a time during Ndamukong Suh's career with the Lions when he looked like the kind of player who would have his number retired.

Less than two months after the All-Pro defensive tackle spurned the Lions to sign with the Miami Dolphins, the team has already found a new No. 90. Gabe Wright, a fourth-round pick from Auburn, will wear Suh's number next season, the team announced Monday night.

When Lions fans see their new team this offseason, they'll have to adjust to a few number changes with the rookie class added.

Wright wore No. 90 at Auburn, and he took a question about potentially using the number in Detroit.

"I wouldn't mind at all," he said during a teleconference.

Wearing a top player's old number won't be anything new for Wright, who wore No. 90 at Auburn after former Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley left the program to enter the NFL. When he joins the Lions, Wright understands he'll be one of the players replacing Suh and Fairley and said he plans to lean on veteran Haloti Ngata for guidance.

"You have two guys that are great at what they do," Wright said. "I am glad to have a veteran right beside me that I can learn from and take tutelage from each and every day."

In addition to Wright wearing Suh's old number, second-round running back Ameer Abdullah will wear No. 21, which Reggie Bush wore the last two years.

Among the other numbers for the rookies are No. 46 for fifth-round fullback Michael Burton, the same jersey he wore at Rutgers. Sixth-round cornerback Quandre Diggs will wear No. 36, adding a three to the beginning of the No. 6 he used at Texas.

Seventh-round offensive tackle Corey Robinson will wear No. 70, the number used by veteran offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds -- who's now in St. Louis -- last year.

Besides Wright wearing Suh's old number, perhaps the biggest adjustment for fans will be the new No. 92 and No. 98. Ngata will wear No. 92, the jersey he used in Baltimore, after convincing end Devin Taylor to switch. The 6-foot-7, 275-pound Taylor will now wear No. 98, which was Fairley's number the past four years.

Second-year linebacker Kyle Van Noy is also changing his number, from No. 95 to 53. Two other second-year players are switching, too, with cornerback Nevin Lawson going from No. 43 to 24 and wide receiver Andrew Peacock changing from No. 1 to 18.

A few of the rookies still don't have a jersey number. First-round guard Laken Tomlinson is trying to get No. 77 after wearing it at Duke, but he'll have to persuade tackle Cornelius Lucas.

Third-round cornerback Alex Carter doesn't have a number yet. He wore No. 25 at Stanford, but running back Theo Riddick took that jersey last year after the Lions cut Mikel Leshoure.

jkatzenstein@detroitnews.com

twitter.com/jkatzenstein