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 some headlines, the New York Giants’ first-round pick is wearing No. 51 with the team, which took the field for the start of its rookie minicamp Friday.

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Carter said 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. 56 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 player that he is,” Taylor told 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. 11 at Penn State — but that number is also retired by the Giants in honor of quarterback Phil Simms. The two-time Super Bowl winner said during a recent interview with FanDuel that he was open to having Carter wear his No. 11, but Simms’ family decided against it.

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So that had Carter still searching for a number, which was finally revealed along with those of the rest of the Giants rookies shortly before minicamp practice kicked off.

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