Abdul Carter, the Giants’ first-round pick, has finally found his jersey number. He will wear No. 51 as a rookie in the NFL after attempting to get the numbers of legends Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms. He ends up taking a piece of both numbers as he will haver to wear the first digit of each (5 from Taylor’s 56 and 1 from Simms’ 11).
How Did We Get Here?
At Penn State, Carter wore number 11. It is given to the team’s best linebacker or defensive lineman. He played linebacker for the first two years of his college career before making the change to edge rusher.
After being drafted 3rd overall in last month’s draft, Carter asked Taylor if he could wear the retired No. 56. This, of course, was met with plenty of criticism. Taylor denied Carter’s request and said that he should create his own legacy with a new number. Taylor told ESPN, “He has to be the player that he is. He can’t be another Lawrence Taylor. Well, he may be better than a Lawrence Taylor, who knows. But he has to make his mark. It’s up to him.”
The next try was for number 11, which is retired for the great quarterback Phil Simms. In an interview with FanDuel TV, Simms said he would be open to granting Carter permission to wear his number. However, the Simms family immediately shut that idea down and decided that the number should stay retired.
After two failed attempts at finding a jersey number, Carter posted on X. His post read, “Damn at this point imma be out there with just my last name on my jersey, no number….Jkjk, It’s all Love. Just wanna play Football!”
Look Ahead
Carter has decided to go with No. 51 which was last worn by edge rusher Azeez Ojulari. He signed with the NFC rival and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
Now Carter has the chance to create his own legacy with a number that isn’t attached to some of the franchise’s all-time great players. Phil Simms was a part of two Super Bowl championships with the Giants. Taylor is widely considered the greatest defensive player of all time. He was so dominant, that the NFL made some rule changes to help offenses.
Fellow first-round pick Jaxson Dart, who is expected to be the team’s future quarterback, will wear No. 6. He wore No. 2 at Old Miss, but cornerback Deonte Banks currently has it.
Since we have our numbers figured out, it’s time to focus on football.
