The New York Giants are making a bold move for rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers.
The Giants confirmed Wednesday that Nabers will wear No. 1 for the team this season. That number has been retired since 1935 in honor of Hall of Fame defensive end Ray Flaherty, but Nabers and the Giants received permission from Flaherty’s family to wear the number.
“After thinking about it a little bit, my feeling was that we would only allow this to happen if the Flaherty family was OK with it,” Giants co-owner John Mara told Steve Serby of the New York Post. “I think that’s very generous on their part, and Malik understands that this comes with a certain responsibility and how he has to conduct himself and represent the organization and the Flaherty family. He handled it great and called them immediately to say thank you.”
Nabers wore No. 8 at LSU, but quarterback Daniel Jones wears that number with the Giants. He wore No. 9 during training camp, but was interested in switching to another number, with No. 1 being particularly dear to his heart. The Giants then brokered the deal with Flaherty’s son, Ray Flaherty Jr., who gave his approval.
“Originally we did a poll and we didn’t know much about Malik,” Flaherty Jr. told the Post. “Maybe someone was still alive from that era when my dad played, but people were so small they wouldn’t remember. John Mara made a pretty good case that it was a good way to get his name back out there.”
The Giants retired Flaherty’s number in 1935, the first number retired by a professional football team. The plan is to retire the number once Nabers’ career with the Giants ends, although the team hopes the No. 6 overall pick performs well enough to remain in use for many years to come.
Although Nabers has never worn No. 1 at any level, it has become increasingly popular at the NFL level with star players like Jalen Hurts and Ja’Marr Chase. Nabers has been compared to Chase before, so it’s possible that was part of his motivation.
