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If Abdul Carter’s jersey number selections were a batting average, he would be in the Hall of Fame.
At least he can now build a Hall of Fame resume on a number that could go down in New York Giants lore.
After getting shut down to wearing both Lawrence Taylor’s No. 56 and Phil Simms’ No. 11, Carter, the third overall pick of the draft, has settled on No. 51.
The Giants announced that Carter will wear the number for rookie minicamp (Jaxson Dart was given No. 6, and Cam Skattebo No. 44), but the numbers are subject to change.
Carter asked Taylor, perhaps the greatest Giant and defensive player ever, whether he could wear his No. 56, which was retired by the Giants in 1994. It was a hard no from LT himself.
Later on, Simms said he would allow Carter to wear his No. 11, which was retired by the Giants in 1995. Carter wore the number throughout his career at Penn State, a badge of honor at the school. It is given to a player the university, and the last representative, feels is worthy. The previous Nittany Lion to wear it before Carter was Micah Parsons, who wears it now with the Dallas Cowboys.
However, that request was ultimately shut down by Simms’ family after a lengthy, fiery debate among the members of the household.
Upon hearing the news, Carter joked that he would “be out there with just my last name on my jersey, no number.” But, he’ll be at minicamp with a number that likely has never even been considered being retired.
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No. 51 was worn last season by edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles. It was first seen on a Giant in 1946 by Chet Gladchuk.
The most notable Giant to wear the number is Zak DeOssie, a two-time Super Bowl champion long snapper who wore it from 2004 to 2017.
Last season, the team unretired Ray Flaherty’s No. 1 for wide receiver Malik Nabers, who wore No. 9 throughout college. Flaherty’s number retirement was the first in professional football history. Flaherty’s family gave the Giants permission to unretire the number for Nabers, who wore it well. Nabers, as a rookie, set the franchise record for most receptions in a season, with 109.
The G-Men have 13 retired numbers for 14 players. (The No. 14 is for Ward Cuff and Y.A. Tittle.) Warren Moon recently granted Cam Ward permission to wear No. 1 with the Tennessee Titans.
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