Kayvon Thibodeaux to Wear No. 5 For New York Giants
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Former Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux will wear No. 5 with the New York Giants to start his NFL career. The Giants took to Twitter Monday afternoon to show off Thibodeaux’s official jersey, with the caption “Thibodeaux got it.”
Even though Thibodeaux wore the same number at Oregon for three seasons, it wasn’t reserved for him with the Big Blue. Veteran kicker Graham Gano had worn number five for the past two seasons for the Giants. Gano even rejected Jabrill Peppers’ request to take the number prior to last season because, as Peppers tells it, Gano’s asking price was “way too high.”
Thibodeaux and Gano hopped on a FaceTime call on Cinco de Mayo, or 5/5, to discuss the fine details. After the call, Thibodeaux all but confirmed the rumors that Gano drives a hard bargain.
“We’re talking real numbers,” said Thibodeaux during his introductory press conference. “When you tell somebody 250, I don’t know what 250 means. You forget all the zeros behind it.”
Kayvon Thibodeaux 2022 NFL Draft
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
$250,000 is an awful lot for a jersey number, especially for a rookie. But Thibodeaux isn’t just any rookie. He hasn’t signed yet, but Pro Football Network projects Thibodeaux’s rookie contract to have a total value of $36.2 million.
On May 10, Thibodeaux donated $50,000 to Puppies Behind Bars, which provides service dogs for wounded war veterans and first responders, in what looks like the exchange for Gano's number five.
And more importantly to Thibodeaux, the number means something. He dons the number five to represent his five friends that believed in him, and his promise that the five would be successful together. Thibodeaux even has five tally marks tattooed on his hand to remind him.
Thibodeaux has his preferred number locked down, but still has a few rookie duties to get through before taking the field at MetLife Stadium.
The fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft still has to negotiate and sign his first professional football contract. After that, rookie minicamps are set to start on May 13, followed by Organized Team Activities on May 23.
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