New year, new coach, new number for Abdul Carter.
The New York Giants‘ first first-round pick from 2025 announced Tuesday he would be changing his number from No. 51 ahead of his second NFL season.
Carter, of course, was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft — chosen between Travis Hunter of the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell.
Carter had an uneven rookie season, finishing with four sacks, seven tackles for loss and two forced fumbles while ending up fifth in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. But he started only six games and was twice held out by interim coach Mike Kafka for tardiness — and NFL Films cameras caught him sleeping in team meetings while they shot for HBO’s in-season “Hard Knocks.”
But Kafka, of course, has been replaced by John Harbaugh, who the Giants hired in January.
Abdul Carter is Changing His Number
Carter wore No. 51 throughout his rookie season and used an official Giants social post to announce his number change
“New # coming soonâ,” Carter shared on X (formerly Twitter). “Itâs been a time 51.”
The post shared it was 51 days until the Giants made a draft selection again, with a picture of Carter wearing No. 51.
https://x.com/1NCRDB1/status/2028916748053815554
Carter had 12 sacks and 23 tackles for loss while wearing the No. 11 for Penn State in his junior season (2024). But that number has been retired by the Giants for Super Bowl-champion quarterback Phil Simms since 1995.
Abdul Carter Wants to Wear No. 56
Carter admitted last year he felt stuck wearing No. 51 because it was what was left over. But he tried to wrestle two numbers away from retired former Giants but was rebuffed by both Simms and Lawrence Taylor.
Carter reportedly wanted to sport No. 56 in his rookie season but was shut down by the Giants icon Taylor. Taylor, the eight-time All-Pro outside linebacker, 1986 NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer, sported that number throughout his career before the Giants retired it in 1994.
âI know he would love to wear that number, but hey, I think itâs retired,â Taylor told the New York Post in 2025. âGet another number, I donât care if itâs double zero, and then make it famous.â
Carter then tried to take No. 11 even though that belonged to Simms. Simms, who like Taylor was a first-round pick of the Giants and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXI, reportedly was open to letting Carter wear No. 11 before his family talked the quarterback out of allowing him to do so.
There is precedent to the Giants letting current players sport retired numbers, though only one instance. Wide receiver Malik Nabers was originally issued No. 9 before he took No. 1 at the blessing of Ray Flaherty’s family — Flaherty’s number was retired in 1935, but the Giants reissued it to Nabers before his rookie season, 2024.
The Giants have retired 13 numbers — Nos. 1, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 16, 32, 40, 42, 50, 56 and 92 all hang from the rafters at MetLife Stadium for various players.
But offensive and defensive players have been able to wear whatever numbers are available since 201, which means Carter can have his pick of any untaken number from 0-99 and make it part of New York lore.
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