Giants first-round pick Abdul Carter chooses No. 51 after headline-making search

EAST RUTHERFORD N J AP Abdul Carter has tackled his first big task in the NFL choosing a jersey number After a search that made several headlines the New York Giants first-round pick is wearing No with the club which took the field for the start of its rookie minicamp Friday Carter stated he ll wear the jersey number which he chose because it was available moving forward but added it s going to have grow on me That came after Carter s request to wear the retired No of Lawrence Taylor was nixed by the Pro Football Hall of Famer who was honored but urged the third overall pick of the draft to create a legacy with his own number He has to be the performer that he is Taylor narrated ESPN two weeks ago He can t be another Lawrence Taylor Well he may be better than a Lawrence Taylor who knows But he has to make his mark It s up to him Carter wore No at Penn State but that number is also retired by the Giants in honor of quarterback Phil Simms The two-time Super Bowl winner declared during a up-to-date interview with FanDuel that he was open to having Carter wear his No but Simms family decided against it So that had Carter still searching for a number which was decisively revealed along with those of the rest of the Giants rookies shortly before minicamp practice kicked off AP NFL https apnews com hub nfl Source