Abdul Carter certainly isn’t lacking confidence as he heads to New York City. After the Penn State defensive end was selected No. 3 overall by the New York Giants, he quickly made an outlandish request of the franchise’s all-time legend, asking Lawrence Taylor if he could wear his No. 56 that has long been retired by the organization.
Carter is a highly-touted prospect, potentially one of the best edge rushers to enter the NFL in a few years, but LT is widely considered the greatest defensive player in the history of the sport with three Defensive Player of the Year awards, the 1986 NFL MVP, eight All-Pro selections, two Super Bowl rings, and most importantly, a gold jacket.
The young former Nittany Lion has quite a lot of work to do to measure up to that resume, and a couple of NFL legends wanted to remind him of that.
Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman put Abdul Carter in his place
On their Dudes on Dudes podcast, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman made sure to let Carter know that he should respect LT’s greatness, something that was probably instilled in them from their former head coach. Long before Bill Belichick became tabloid fodder with his 24-year-old girlfriend, and even before he was the head coach of the New England Patriots, he was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants, who helped lead LT and his menacing defenses to two Super Bowls.
Belichick has always maintained that LT is the greatest defensive player in football history, and that view obviously rubbed off on two of his star pupils in New England. Gronkowski and Edelman played opposite many great defenses during their time with the Patriots, but no individual player came close to matching LT’s dominance.
Carter was wrong to ask for the legend’s number, even after Warren Moon allowed No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward to wear his retired No. 1 in Tennessee. It was always an absurd request, even for a player who has already lived up to a number with a massive legacy in Happy Valley, and Taylor was right to deny Carter.
It appears that Carter has gotten off on the wrong foot with the NFL fraternity, and the best way to get back into the good graces of former superstars with large platforms like Gronk and Edelman is to respect the greats who came before and pave your own way through the league. Carter took the denial in stride, so hopefully he learned his lesson, and someday whatever number he selects will be retired in the Meadowlands next to LT’s 56 and Phil Simms’ No. 11.