On the first day, Abdul Carter wore jersey No. 51.
Not 56. Not 11. Those numbers remain retired for Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms, respectively.
“I feel good,” Carter said Friday of his new number after his first on-field action for the Giants as rookie minicamp opened. “I feel like it’s going to have to grow on me a little bit, but it’s feeling good right now.”
Not long after the Giants made Carter the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft, the edge rusher made inquiries to Taylor about wearing No. 56.
Taylor respectfully said no and urged Carter to make famous whatever number he eventually got to wear.
Carter wore a legacy jersey at Penn State — No. 11 — and Simms said he would be fine with his number coming out of retirement for Carter, who said he would be honored to wear No. 11. Simms got overruled by his wife and daughter, though, and 11 remains off-limits.
So, why 51 for Carter?
“Pretty much what we had available,” he said. “It was a good number.”
This does not have to be a permanently ᴀssigned number for Carter, but he said, “It’s pretty much set. I’m just happy to be out here playing football. That’s all I’m worried about.”
That is all head coach Brian Daboll is worried about, too.
“Yeah, he’ll wear 51,” Daboll said. “I’m more concerned about the player and proving him, so that’s what number he’s in, 51.”
Running back Cam Skattebo wore No. 44 in his Giants camp debut.
He wore No. 4 at Arizona State and did not sound thrilled with the double-4 look.
“This is what I’m in for now,” he said. “We’ll see — this is a temporary number. We’ll see what I end up in the season, but we won’t know that until later on.”
Quarterback Jaxson Dart wore No. 2 at Ole Miss, but cornerback Deonte Banks currently has that jersey number. Dart wore No. 6 for his first Giants action.
“Yeah, I think we’ll come to a final decision here soon,” Dart said. “Quite honestly, I kind of have to just look at the pictures to see if I like myself in six.”
Three draft picks signed their rookie contracts: OL Marcus Mbow (fifth round), TE Thomas Fidone (seventh round) and DB Korie Black (seventh round). … The Giants needed a roster spot, so they released WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey two months after signing the six-year veteran to a one-year deal for $1.24 million. Humphrey might be re-signed Monday. The addition of WR Gabe Davis, cut this past week by the Jaguars, remains a possibility.
Former Giants star DE Michael Strahan watched practice and addressed the team afterward.
“It’s crazy seeing the Hall of Famer here on the first day just come watch us practice, watch us have fun as rookies like he did when he was younger,” DT Darius Alexander, a third-round pick, said. “It was awesome.”
