The New York Jets’ crosstown rivals are the source of the NFL’s most controversial storyline of the week.
New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter, the third overall pick in this year’s draft, has sought to wear the numbers of multiple franchise legends whose jerseys have been retired. So far, both of his attempts have failed.
First, Carter was rebuffed by Lawrence Taylor when he requested to wear the legendary pass rusher’s No. 56. Taylor urged Carter to “be the player that he is” and “make his mark.”
Carter’s second choice was No. 11, the same digits he wore at Penn State. The Giants have that number retired for former quarterback Phil Simms, the MVP of Super Bowl XXI.
Simms stated that he would be willing to let Carter have the number, but that he was “outvoted by his family” and the number will stay retired.
Carter’s pursuit of multiple retired numbers has sparked widespread debate about whether it is acceptable for teams to unretire jersey numbers or for players to broach the subject. Interestingly, the controversy occurs one year after the Giants unretired the No. 1 jersey (in honor of Ray Flaherty) for their 2024 first-round pick, Malik Nabers.
Would the Jets ever unretire a jersey number?
The Jets have five retired numbers in franchise history:
- No. 12: QB Joe Namath
- No. 13: WR Don Maynard
- No. 28: RB Curtis Martin
- No. 73: DT Joe Klecko
- No. 90: DT Dennis Byrd
These are five of the most respected and iconic figures in the history of a franchise that, frankly, does not have a whole lot of them. It seems extremely unlikely that any of these numbers will ever be worn again.
It is also important to recognize that both of the Giants’ jersey situations involved numbers considered unique for the respective positions of the players who requested them.
Nabers wanted No. 1, which wide receivers were not allowed to wear in the NFL until 2021. In the same year, linebackers were given the option to wear numbers from 1-49. Due to the newness of these rules, Nabers’ No. 1 and Carter’s requested No. 11 are considered modern, cool, and marketable numbers to see on a jersey, heightening their desire to go as far as to request a number to be unretired.
The Jets do not have any single-digit numbers retired. Perhaps Nos. 12 or 13 would be pursued by a flashy defender who wore it in college, but there is no way the Jets would ever consider unretiring Namath or Maynard’s numbers.
Namath is the most iconic figure in franchise history and one of the most important characters in NFL history. Maynard remains the Jets’ all-time leader in all receiving categories by a significant margin. Garrett Wilson would need to maintain his current yards-per-game pace for 134 more games (eight seasons) to surpass Maynard’s 11,732 yards.
Curtis Martin is the only retired number to represent the Jets’ run of success in the Bill Parcells era of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He is the franchise’s leading rusher by such a wide margin that only Freeman McNeil has even half as many rushing yards as Martin – and he is still more than 2,000 yards behind.
Newly minted Hall-of-Famer Joe Klecko was a three-time All-Pro who headlined the franchise’s all-time most recognizable positional unit, the New York Sack Exchange. Not to mention, his No. 73 is not a particularly unique number; it seems unlikely that a player would care about it enough to cause a fuss about it. It’s a number that would likely go to an offensive lineman or defensive tackle, two positions that sport fewer divas than wide receiver and edge rusher.
The late, great Dennis Byrd was building a standout career with the Jets (28 sacks in three-and-a-half seasons) until a tragic neck injury in 1992 ended his career at 26 years old. To this day, the Jets annually present the Dennis Byrd Award to the team’s Most Inspirational Player. This number will never be unretired.
For any of these numbers, it would be disrespectful for a player to even inquire about wearing it. Even Aaron Rodgers graciously accepted No. 8 after winning four MVPs in No. 12, making no attempt to take Namath’s No. 12 despite getting the legend’s blessing.
When you see that an incredibly accomplished veteran like Rodgers respects the history that came before him, it goes to show how absurd it is for Nabers and Carter to think they have the right to take the numbers of franchise legends before they even touch an NFL practice field.
It seems unlikely the Jets will ever run into a number-unretiring controversy. They can leave this drama to the attention-seeking youngsters on the other side of town.
