When quarterback Aaron Rodgers first signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, there was intrigue over what jersey number he would wear. For 18 years in Green Bay, Rodgers wore No. 12.

But that number has a rich history in Pittsburgh with the Steelers. While not being officially retired by the organization, no one has worn No. 12 since Hall of Fame and four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw. Would Rodgers interfere with the legacy of that number?

Rodgers eventually took No. 8, the digit he wore for two years in New York. But while the stories of that number in Steelers history are far less legendary, they are still fascinating. Somehow, despite only eight players having worn that number in franchise history, their collective stories span from World War II to the present.

These are the stories of the eight players who wore No. 8 before Aaron Rodgers. In today’s edition, Karl Joseph.

Oddly enough, the two defensive players in this series to wear No. 8 both played for the Steelers in the same year.

Karl Joseph was the first safety drafted in 2016 when the Oakland Raiders selected him 14th overall. He played in 49 games for the Raiders over his first four years in the league, recording 236 total tackles, 15 passes defended, four interceptions, and a forced fumble.

In 2020, he signed a deal with the Cleveland Browns, playing in 14 regular season games for the team.

If you don’t remember him from his time with the Browns, he was the player who recovered Maurkice Pouncey’s errant snap that flew into the endzone in that 2020 Wild Card game against the Steelers.

After a year in Cleveland, he signed a deal to come back to the Raiders, who now were playing in Las Vegas. However, he was cut in training camp and was forced to try and find work elsewhere.

On September 1st, 2021. he landed with the Steelers, signing with their practice squad. He remained waiting in the wings during the first three weeks of the season.

Pittsburgh opened their season with a surprising Week 1 win in Buffalo against the Bills, but dropped their next three straight to fall to 1-3. On October 4th, a day after the Steelers lost to the Packers in Green Bay, Joseph was promoted to the active roster.

He made his Steelers debut on October 10th, as Pittsburgh took on the Denver Broncos at home.

Interestingly, when Joseph suited up at safety for his first time on the year, he did not wear No. 8. At that time, the number was occupied by linebacker Melvin Ingram, who also has a feature in this series.

Crazy Eights: Melvin Ingram

With the relaxing of jersey numbers ahead of the 2021 season, players across different positions could wear all kinds of wacky numbers on the field.

The team suffered a critical blow when they lost Juju Smith-Schuster to a shoulder injury, but they did pull out a 27-19 win against Denver.

Joseph, for his part, played a grand total of two defensive snaps. Most of his playing time came chipping in on special teams, where he was on the field for six snaps.

Joseph wouldn’t see the field again for weeks, waiting for his next opportunity.

In the time between his appearances, Ingram had been traded. On November 2nd of that season, the Steelers dealt the underperforming Ingram to Kansas City for a sixth round pick. That choice was eventually used on Connor Heyward.

The Steelers claimed an overtime win against Seattle, taking them to 3-3 before their bye week. Coming out of the bye, the Steelers put up back-to-back wins, winning over Joseph’s old team in Cleveland 15-10, and pulling off a very controversial 29-27 win over a rookie Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears.

Then, in Week 10, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was placed on the Covid-19 list, forcing backup Mason Rudolph into action as the Steelers tied 16-16 with the winless Detroit Lions.

Roethlisberger would return the following week, and Joseph would finally get back into action as the Steelers traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers.

In his second game for the team, he took the No. 8 that was now vacated by Imgram.

Joseph’s highlight of the game came in the dying seconds of the first half. With the Chargers on Pittsburgh’s seven-yard line and facing a third down and short situation, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert tried to gun a pass to Austin Ekeler, but Joseph broke it up, creating a fourth down.

That pass defended was essentially a four-point play; had Ekeler caught it, it would have given LA a first down and probably two more chances at the endzone. Instead, Joseph’s play forced the Chargers to kick a field goal, heading into the half up only seven.

Los Angeles looked to be in control of the game late. A rushing touchdown by Ekeler put the Chargers up 34-20 with less than nine minutes left to go in the fourth quarter. But the Steelers came all the way back.

The Steelers executed a 75-yard drive to cut the lead to seven, and on LA’s next possession, Cam Heyward deflected a pass that landed in the arms of Cam Sutton. The offense cashed in two plays later, tying the game.

Pittsburgh then held down the fort on a fourth and inches try by LA, getting great field position and converting it into three points, giving them the lead with 3:29 to go in the fourth.

But, it was not to last. LA’s Herbert fired a 53-yard strike to Mike Williams (who would become a Steeler years later), giving the Chargers the lead back.

LA’s comeback came on the plus side of the two minute warning, giving the Steelers one more chance to snag a win. However, Roethlisberger was obliterated by the Chargers’ pass rush twice, killing any real chance the Steelers had. They fell 41-37.

In all, Joseph played 15 defensive snaps in the game, just a hair under 20% of all available. He also took eight snaps on special teams.

That would stand as Joseph’s last NFL game. He didn’t play a down for the rest of the season for the Steelers, and has not played in the league since.

He re-signed with the team after the 2021 season, but suffered a knee injury in training camp and was placed on injured reserve.