2015 NFL countdown: Looking at Uniform No. 79 for the Cardinals

We continue the countdown to the start of the 2015 NFL season for the Arizona Cardinals. After concluding with the exciting 80s, we now hit the 70s. Today we look at No. 79.

Taking over from BigRedBilly, I will take a slightly different direction with the series. I gave a more comprehensive history last year, so I will focus on a player in history.

Right now, Bradley Sowell wears No. 79. He is a Bruce Arians guy. He was claimed off waivers before the 2013 season and became the starting left tackle after Levi Brown was traded to the Steelers in a deal that was later voided because he got injured and landed on injured reserve.

But let's focus on a particular No. 79. It has mostly been a transient number, never being worn by a player for more than a couple of years since the team landed in Arizona. The longest a player had it was when Chuck Walker donned it from 1964-72. A defensive lineman for the then St. Louis Cardinals, he was a Pro Bowler in 1966, a 2nd Team All-Pro in 1967 and a 1st Team All-Pro in 1969.

Here is an added bonus -- you might not remember, but Simeon Rice wore No. 79 his rookie season. He wore No. 97 the rest of his career, but he had 12.5 sacks that first season. He was great,  but also famously called the Cardinals "the armpit of the NFL." He also downplayed Pat Tillman's leaving the NFL to go serve our country at one time.

On a positive note, he collected 122 sacks in his career, 51.5 for the Cardinals over five seasons.

79 days left.

For a full list of No. 79, here is the site.

Do you have any favorites of No. 79?

For a listing of the entire collection of stories in the Countdown to the Season series, all you have to do is click here.