Rob Gronkowski has never been shy in front of a mic—but Abdul Carter asking for Lawrence Taylor’s number gave him a whole new reason to speak up.
After being drafted third overall by the New York Giants, Carter’s arrival in East Rutherford was already headline material. An explosive edge rusher out of Penn State, comparisons to Micah Parsons were inevitable. What no one quite expected, though, was Carter’s bold ask: to wear No. 56—the sacred digits retired in honor of one of the greatest defenders in football history.
To be fair, Carter wasn’t demanding the number. He asked. Respectfully. And Taylor himself shut the door on it. But the reaction didn’t stop there.
Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman slam Abdul Carter for LT jersey request
If there’s one way to get Gronk fired up, it’s by asking for the jersey number of the greatest defensive player in NFL history.
The former Patriots tight end lost it this week, sounding off on Carter after reports surfaced that the No. 3 overall pick had inquired about wearing Lawrence Taylor’s legendary No. 56. Gronk wasn’t just surprised—he was stunned:
“Was he serious, asking for LT’s number? Yeah, you were a high draft pick, but LT is an absolute legend,” Gronkowski said on his Dudes on Dudes podcast. “The best to do it, one of the best defenders of all time… like, you gotta prove yourself. That’s crazy just asking for LT’s number and I’m glad that LT shut him down like that.”
Gronk being glad that LT shut Carter down says more about him than it does anything else.
Julian Edelman jumped in too: “That was such an LT response. Go make your own freaking number, kid. Can we read the room? And it’s not even the room, it’s the football galaxy.”
To their point—sure, it’s bold. No one else has worn No. 56 since it was officially retired in 1994. And after everything Taylor did in Giants blue—MVP, two-time Super Bowl champ, Hall of Famer, face of a franchise— that number is untouchable. That’s not opinion. That’s fact.
But if you’re a Giants fan, Carter’s ask doesn’t come off as arrogant. It comes off as exactly what you’d want from your No. 3 overall pick: someone chasing greatness from Day 1 and looking to honor the best to ever suit up. There’s a difference between wanting to be LT and wanting to honor LT. Carter’s post after the rejection made it crystal clear which one it was:
"It’s not about the number, it’s about the player! The number just legacy, its iconic, something cool!" Carter wrote. "That’s how I see it. I shot, if he says no, cool, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take."
That’s the response of someone who gets it.
Carter then pivoted to his college number, No. 11—only to find that one’s retired too, for Phil Simms. Simms initially said he’d be open to unretiring it, but his family ultimately said no. And Carter, again, took the news in stride: “Damn at this point imma be out there with just my last name on my jersey.”
For all the drama about jersey numbers, this has never been about ego. It’s about motivation. Carter isn’t asking to be LT. He’s trying to live up to the standard. And if that bothers people, maybe it says more about them than it does about the kid.
He’ll pick a number. It won’t be 56 or 11. But if he lives up to the hype? Giants fans will be buying his jersey no matter what the number is on the back.