Abdul Carter is likely going to have a lot of success rushing off the edge for the New York Giants over the next few years. But his first couple of weeks in the Big Apple have not been ideal. After being drafted No. 3 overall by Big Blue, he wanted to make a statement via his jersey number. That has not gone to plan, and it all feels like it could have been avoided with a stronger hand from the franchise.
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Carter, who wore the historical No. 11 for Penn State in college, asked all-time great Lawrence Taylor for his retired No. 56. The 1986 NFL MVP said, no way, Jose. Carter then moved on to his old No. 11, which just so happens to also be retired for the great Phil Simms. While Simms didn’t seem to mind much at first, he changed his tune upon talking to his family, and the No. 11 was shut off from Carter as well. Not ideal.
On Friday, the Giants announced a slate of jersey numbers for the rookie minicamp. Carter’s was revealed along with a few others, and in the end, he chose No. 51. Though it is worth noting that rookie minicamp numbers are far from set in stone and are, of course, subject to change.
Source: #Giants No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter plans to wear No. 5️⃣1️⃣ today and moving forward.
With rookie minicamp starting, Carter will be on the field with his new teammates after weighing several historic number options. 51 it is. pic.twitter.com/49jhqFh3HU
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 9, 2025
Though the Giants have an illustrious history of elite linebackers, none of them have worn No. 51. This could give Carter a chance to forge his own legacy. Plus, it also seems to be a mash-up of the two numbers—56 and 11—that Carter was denied. Whether the mash-up aspect played a part for Carter, only he knows, but it’s a fun thought.
He now has his number, but the whole ordeal felt like it could have been easily avoided if the Giants had simply used a firmer hand with their first-round pick. That’s what one Redditor suggested, at least.
“I kinda blame the Giants organization for not shutting it down immediately. If a number is retired, it’s retired. Don’t pass the onus off on a legend of your franchise because you don’t want to scratch the ego of a 21 year old who hasn’t proven anything yet.”
“I agree 100% about how it should have been handled,” said a fan in support. Another pointed out that the Giants had already put themselves in a pickle through something they did last year: “Problem here is that the Giants already created a precedence when they allowed #1 to be unretired.”
The Giants’ first-round pick in 2024, wideout Malik Nabers, originally wore No. 9 in the preseason. However, he ended up returning to the No. 1 he wore in college prior to the start of the regular season. The family of Ray Flaherty, the first NFL player ever to have his jersey retired back in 1935, gave Nabers their blessing to bring the jersey out of retirement after 90 years. No wonder Carter thought he had a shot to get one unretired for himself.
Other fans pointed out that unretiring numbers for rookies that have yet to perform in the NFL doesn’t make as much sense as for an incoming icon: “I’m ok with the Seahawks giving Jerry Rice 80 or the Broncos giving Peyton 18, make exceptions for future HoFamers, not rookies who haven’t done anything.”
We would tend to agree with that last commenter. Abdul Carter is likely to be great for the Giants, but that’s not a certainty. How would it look to unretire the number of an all-time great for a guy who turned out to be a flop? It makes more sense to reserve the honor of jersey number unretirement for an all-time great joining your team via free agency.
And it’s not like Carter got a bad number. The number 51 carries a strong reputation in NFL circles. It’s not exactly a pass-rusher number, but there have been a litany of legendary middle linebackers to don these digits. Most notably Dick Butkus, perhaps the greatest overall linebacker ever—apart from maybe Lawrence Taylor.
Other No. 51 greats include Takeo Spikes, Hall of Famer Sam Mills, Ken Norton Jr., James Farrior, Jonathan Vilma, and more. A couple of elite interior linemen, Randy Cross and Hall of Famer Jim Ringo, have also worn it. Carter certainly has the opportunity in New York to forge a new identity for the No. 51s as elite pass-rushers.
