Giants' Abdul Carter Reportedly Plans to Wear No. 51 Jersey After LT, Simms Comments

After being spurned by Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms in his search for a number to wear in the NFL, Abdul Carter has finally settled on his jersey with the New York Giants.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Carter intends to wear No. 51 starting on Friday when the Giants open rookie minicamp.

There has been a lot of discussion around Carter's number, largely because of the ways Taylor and Simms went about saying theirs would remain unavailable to the rookie.

Taylor made it clear there was no way he would bring his No. 56 out of retirement to let Carter use it in games.

“I know he would love to wear that number, but hey, I think it’s retired. Get another number, I don’t care if it’s double zero, and then make it famous," Taylor told Steve Serby of the New York Post.

Simms was more diplomatic about his No. 11 not being available to Carter. The two-time Super Bowl winner said he would have had no issue with the Giants giving his number to Carter, but his family "outvoted" him when the subject came up.

Chris Simms, Phil's son, said on Monday's episode of PFT Live with Mike Florio (h/t Matt Ehalt of the New York Post) that his mother and sister were key factors in voting to keep No. 11 retired.

"(She said) ‘I thought you were going to be on my side, how dare you. Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you and we’re hanging up," Chris said of a conversation with his sister. "That’s when I knew, uh-oh, mom and sister have gotten involved here. And mom and sister have one more vote than me and brother (Matt), and I don’t know where my brother stands on this."

Carter wore No. 11 for each of his three seasons at Penn State. The number has been synonymous with high-level defensive players. Previous Nittany Lions stars to wear it include Micah Parsons, LaVar Arrington and NaVorro Bowman.

The Giants retired No. 11 for Simms in 1995. He spent his entire 15-year NFL career with the franchise. Taylor's No. 56 was retired in 1994, one year after his playing career ended.

No. 51 has been worn by 20 different players in Giants history. Azeez Ojulari most recently wore it from 2021 to 2024, but he left the Giants in March as a free agent to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Carter, the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, is being counted on as an anchor for New York's defense. He's joining an exciting pass-rush group that already features Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux.