March 4, 2026, 7:04 a.m. ET
Before his rookie season, Abdul Carter had quite the journey in selecting his jersey number. After targeting a few numbers the Giants franchise had previously retired, Carter eventually announced in late August that he was sticking with No. 51, which he had worn throughout the offseason.
It appears we are about to see part two of the jersey number decision saga ahead of Carter’s sophomore season.
After being highly touted coming out of Penn State last year and getting selected third overall by the Giants, Carter had his sights set on the most famous number in franchise history before his first NFL snap: No. 56, of course, retired in honor of Lawrence Taylor.
When he failed to get permission from the greatest defensive player of all time, Carter then tried to obtain No. 11, the number he wore in college and which is retired in favor of Phil Simms.
Although he received a ton of criticism for targeting two of the most famous numbers in franchise history, the Giants had just unretired No. 1 for rookie Malik Nabers the previous year.
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Carter is coming off an underwhelming rookie season after fans expected big things from the start of his career. There was considerable hype around Carter and the rest of the talent on the defensive line heading into the 2025 season.
Some have speculated that Carter may not be the only one changing his number ahead of Year 2, as quarterback Jaxson Dart could target a switch from No. 6 in favor of No. 2, which was his number in college at Ole Miss.
It’s unclear why Carter is switching numbers after just one season, although it could certainly be related to his disappointing rookie year. There will certainly be plenty of fans disappointed if Carter moves on from No. 51 after purchasing his jersey. However, a jersey number change following a rookie season is not uncommon in the NFL.
