Jayden Daniels might find a friend in Micah Parsons.

This week, Parsons weighed in on Daniels’ cease-and-desist fight with LSU over jersey No. 5, dismissing the idea that he should expect the same loyalty LSU shows a legend like Joe Burrow.

“And I think when it comes to that, like college coaches switch around so much, there is no loyalty in that,” Micah Parsons said on The Edge. ” ike it’s not their fault. Like coaches just get fired cuz it’s bad seasons, whatever, but like there is no loyalty in college. Like expecting some type of loyalty is like delusional.”

LSU let sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett start wearing No. 5 this preseason, the same number Jayden Daniels made famous on his way to winning the Heisman in 2023. So when Pickett showed up in No. 5 at the start of preseason practice, Daniels took offense and sought legal intervention.

Pickett, a five-star recruit, was promised the number by former LSU head coach Brian Kelly. He held off giving Pickett the jersey last year, after Daniels had already said no. However, with Kelly gone and new head coach Lane Kiffin in, a door opened up for Pickett.

“DJ is in [No.] 5, and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here,” Kiffin said. “I’ve done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn’t have a decision to make. It was promised to the kid. It wasn’t done for whatever [reason]. I’m not going to get into that.”

Pickett actually wore No. 3 last year, his freshman season, when he recorded three interceptions and 37 tackles across 524 snaps on defense. For now, he’s told the press he won’t be dropping No. 5 just because Daniels doesn’t like his legacy being interfered with.

“I’ve worn the number my whole life, since I was 4 years old,” Pickett said. “It’s the number I was promised [by LSU]. I wish Jayden the best. Good player, and he did real good here [at LSU]. So that’s all.”

LSU retires jerseys, but not jersey numbers. The program has five retired jerseys, of which only Billy Cannon’s No. 20 will not be used anymore. The criteria for a number retirement are also extremely lofty: per the rules, a player has to record achievements that are bigger than what would get a player inducted to LSU’s Hall of Fame.

And technically, the school’s own policy “does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach.”

Daniels played for LSU for only two years, after transferring here from Arizona State. He threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns in his Heisman-winning season, while adding over a thousand rushing yards.

Washington took him second overall in 2024, and he has since been a big part of the franchise’s turnaround. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year, but an injury-marred campaign ruined 2025 for Daniels. Still, the quarterback believes the school is unjustly making use of his NIL by giving Pickett the jersey number.

For comparison, look at how LSU has handled Joe Burrow’s old No. 9. Nobody has touched that number since Burrow wore it in 2019, the year he won the Heisman and led LSU to an undefeated national championship season. His jersey has not been retired; neither has the number. But should he win the Super Bowl, that might change.

Hilariously enough. Burrow dodged an attempt to get him involved in this tussle.

“I don’t know too much about it. I just heard about it a couple of hours ago,” he said after the preseason clash with the Detroit Lions. “I don’t necessarily have too many thoughts at this time. I just…I don’t know enough about the situation to have any thoughts, I would say.

“They told me that they wouldn’t use it again. But you never know what happens.”

Where LSU draws the line between former players and how it classifies them will remain a mystery.