First, Lawrence Taylor. Now, Phil Simms.
For Abdul Carter, the toughest part about being in the NFL may be finding a uniform number.
Carter’s hopes of bringing the famed No. 56 of Taylor out of retirement were rebuffed last weekend by the Hall of Fame linebacker, who respectfully urged the New York Giants rookie to make his own mark instead.
Simms then entered the picture when he said on FanDuel TV that he would be open to unretiring his No. 11 so that Carter, or fellow Giants first-round pick Jaxson Dart, could wear it.
“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. “I think it would be a lot of fun. It wouldn’t bother me.”
Carter, who wore No. 11 at Penn State, seemed keen on the idea, writing on social media: “It would be an HONOR.”
But those hopes evidently were short-lived.
Simms told longtime New York Daily News writer Gary Myers on Friday that he was “outvoted by his family” and his No. 11 will remain retired by the Giants.
It all left Carter, the No. 3 pick in last week’s NFL draft, jokingly wondering just what will be on the back of his jersey once the NFL season begins.
Damn at this point imma be out there with just my last name on my jersey, no number😂😂😂 Jkjk, It’s all Love. Just wanna play Football!
— Abdul Carter (@1NCRDB1) May 3, 2025
Unretiring a number for a first-round draft pick isn’t completely foreign to the Giants. Last year’s first-round pick, Malik Nabers, received permission from the family of the late Ray Flaherty to wear No. 1.