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Abdul Carter reacts after Phil Simms' family vetoed unretiring Giants' No. 11 jersey 

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra05/03/25SamraSource
Abdul Carter
Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

The New York Giants drafted Abdul Carter No. 3 overall during the 2025 NFL Draft, and they’re hoping he turns into a legend for the franchise. He’s having a bit of a tough time finding a uniform number to begin his career though.

Carter previously spoke about his desire to wear No. 56 in New York, if the iconic Lawrence Taylor gave him permission. The former Penn State star hoped to follow in Taylor’s footsteps with the Giants, after being the top edge rusher in the draft class.

However, Taylor opted not to give Carter his blessing to wear his number. While speaking with the New York Post, he encouraged Carter to chart his own path, and play well enough that he gets a new number retired with the Giants.

With No. 56 off the board, a new avenue was brought to Carter’s attention, as his college number in No. 11 was potentially available to him. Former Giants quarterback Phil Simms rocked the number, which was retired by the team. Comments made by the two-time Super Bowl champion led Carter to believe it was possible he’d receive Simms’ permission.

“I told some of my friends and people around me, ‘I’d let him have it in a second. Can you just help it a little or make it better?'” Simms said, via FanDuel TV. “I think it would be a lot of fun. It wouldn’t bother me.”

Evidently, Carter was a fan of the idea: “It would be an HONOR,” the first rounder posted on X in response. It all seemed to be coming together, until Simms told the media that he was out-voted by his family, and the number would stay retired in New York, via longtime New York Daily News writer Gary Myers.

So, the search goes on for Carter. He had some jokes about the matter though, taking to social media to laugh about the situation, going as far as to say he’s not going to have a number on his jersey in 2025.

“Damn at this point imma be out there with just my last name on my jersey, no number,” Carter posted, accompanying some laughing-face emojis. “Jkjk, It’s all Love. Just wanna play Football!”

All told, there’s plenty of options for Adbul Carter when it comes to choosing his number. At least he’ll be able to make it his own if he’s not sharing the digits with an already retired jersey.

The Giants have high hopes for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Fans will be lining up to buy his jersey when he finally settles on what number he’ll rock this season, it just won’t be No. 56 or No. 11.