Giants' Malik Nabers to wear Ray Flaherty's previously-retired No. 1
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers catches the ball during warmups before an NFL preseason game on Saturday at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Noah K. Murray
Malik Nabers finally has settled on his jersey number.
He will wear No. 1 when he makes his regular season debut on Sept. 8 against the Vikings at MetLife Stadium.
The story behind the number is, you could say, legendary.
For No. 1 to be available, it had to be brought out of retirement. Nabers becomes the first Giants player to wear it since 1935.
“It shows how much trust they have in me,” Nabers said. “It shows how much they are really going to go to bat for me. They say it's a lot of pressure, but I don't really feel any pressure.”
The number originally was taken out of circulation by the Giants after Ray Flaherty retired following the ‘35 season. It was the first retired jersey number in professional football.
Recently, John Mara and Ray Flaherty, Jr., had discussions about the jersey. Following those conversations, Nabers was given the famous number.
"I'm going to represent their family’s retired number well," Nabers said. "I'm going to try my best. I'm grateful that they chose the opportunity to un-retire the jersey and let me wear it. I'm going to wear it with pride."
Nabers wore No. 9 throughout the spring and summer but needed a different number since punter Graham Gano is No. 9. He wore No. 8 at LSU, but that belongs to quarterback Daniel Jones.
"Everybody else's number was really taken,” Nabers said. "I looked into retired jerseys and number one stood out. So, I asked John Mara about it. He was like, ‘We could give it a shot.’ So, we gave it a shot."
Mara would not have approved activating the number without the approval of the Flaherty family. That included Ray Jr., daughter Shelby, and sons Chad and Conner.
In the locker room Thursday, Nabers said the jersey “looks good, feels good. No, it doesn’t have a meaning [to me], but it has a meaning in this organization. It's been retired for so long. Thank you [to] the Flaherty family for letting me wear it.”
Notes & quotes: Brian Daboll said ILB Dyontae Johnson was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Johnson injured his ankle in the preseason opener against the Lions. The undrafted free agent will miss the first four games before becoming eligible to return to the active roster. … Asked if WR Gunner Olszewski will be ready to start the season as punt returner, Daboll said, “We'll see. I mean, he's making progress. He was out here catching punts yesterday. I think he's making improvement. I would hope so, but again, it's 10, 11 days away, I think. We'll see where he's at.” … Daboll said ILB Micah McFadden is still out....The Giants signed LB Curtis Bolton, who reportedly had a strong training camp with the Dolphins. …Asked what he saw from the offensive line, which was finally together as a unit, Daboll said, “Yeah, they did a good job. Good communicators. Again, there’s some experience on that line. They’ve played a lot of football, but it was good to have them out there. Good communication. Had a good practice.” … Asked how the conversation goes with a player like WR Isaiah Hodgins, who was instrumental in the team’s playoff appearance two years ago and is now on the practice squad, Daboll said: “I think you're just honest with the players. You're bringing them in off their off day, but you have to have [those conversations]. You just try to be transparent. I think there's mutual respect. That's what you hope for." … WR Allen Robinson spent time in training camp with the Giants but chose to go to the Lions practice squad. Daboll declined to say if the Giants offered Robinson a practice squad spot. “He was a great pro,” Daboll said, “so we’ll see what happens.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
