Lawrence Taylor has refused to give Abdul Carter his blessing to don the New York Giants legend’s retired No. 56 jersey.
On Thursday, the Giants selected Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The dominant Penn State defensive end appeared on Bleacher Report’s live draft show shortly after shaking Roger Goodell’s hand.
Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, a co-host of the draft show, asked Carter about what jersey number Carter would wear with the Giants. Parsons, a fellow Penn State alum, had some personal interest in the matter because both men wore No. 11 for the Nittany Lions. Carter said, “56 sounds real good” before adding that he “had to have a conversation” with Taylor about the matter first.
'I got a number in mind… No. 56 sound real good' 👀
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 25, 2025
Abdul Carter on wearing LT's jersey number with NY Giants pic.twitter.com/my6RgaCpCV
Unfortunately for Carter, Taylor rejected the idea and instead challenged the youngster to bring glory to a different set of digits.
“I know he would love to wear that number, but hey, I think it’s retired,” Taylor told the New York Post’s Steve Servy. “Get another number, I don’t care if it’s double zero, and then make it famous.”
Getting No. 11 won’t be straightforward either for Carter because the Giants have already retired the number in honor of two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms.
Carter may have gotten the idea from first overall pick Cam Ward, who got the blessing of a Tennessee Titans legend to revive a retired number. Carter did not have the same luck.
