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Earlier in the offseason, the NFL announced a rule change that allows players a bigger selection of jersey numbers available by position.
The New York Giants had wide receiver Sterling Shepard change his number to No. 3 — his college number that honors his father — which Shepard announced in an Instagram post:
One of the other Giants players who was strongly considering a number change was defensive captain Jabrill Peppers. Peppers wore No. 5 at the University of Michigan and was clearly interested taking back the number currently worn by kicker Graham Gano.
Peppers did inquire about negotiating a deal with Gano to take No. 5, but a deal was never struck. On Wednesday, Peppers was asked about Gano’s asking price to surrender the number to Peppers.
“Yeah, yeah, way too high,” Peppers said. “I tried but he’s not budging. You know, I’m thinking about hanging it up. I still probably got a month to try to see what I can do, try to swing him my way. But at the moment, it’s not looking too good.”
Gano had a great season for Big Blue in 2020 and was a model of consistency when it came to field goals.
Gano is currently wearing the fourth different number of his NFL career, for what it’s worth. That means his loyalty to the No. 5 may not be that strong.
It’s not clear what Gano’s demands were to surrender the number or how committed he is to not soften his demands but for now he will retain the No. 5. Will a deal be reached between Gano and Peppers before the season starts? Only time will tell, but don’t sleep on a change.
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