Abdul Carter gave it a shot, figuring he had nothing to lose.

Sure, Lawrence Taylor’s No. 56 is retired by the New York Giants and is one of the most revered jersey numbers in franchise history. But Carter, the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, idolizes Taylor and wanted to see if he’d be cool with him going after quarterbacks all these years later while wearing that familiar number.

Well, L.T. sacked those dreams quickly.

Taylor heard of Carter’s request and, while honored, thinks the former Penn State pass rusher needs to do a number on opposing offenses in something other than No. 56.

“He has to be the player that he is,” Taylor told ESPN. “He can’t be another Lawrence Taylor. Well, he may be better than a Lawrence Taylor, who knows? But he has to make his mark. It’s up to him.”

Carter wore No. 11 at Penn State — but that number is also retired by the Giants in honor of quarterback Phil Simms.

Browns draft QB Sanders in 5th round >> Shedeur Sanders’ wait finally has ended.

The Cleveland Browns selected the Colorado quarterback and son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick in the NFL draft. That ended a stunning fall for Sanders, the most recognizable player in this draft class after his attention-getting college career.

Draft forecasts generally rated Sanders behind only Miami’s Cam Ward — who went first overall to the Tennessee Titans — among quarterbacks in this class. Five quarterbacks were taken before him instead, with one of them going to Cleveland when the Browns picked Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

Seahawks trade QB to Vikings >> The Minnesota Vikings acquired quarterback Sam Howell in a trade with Seattle during the NFL draft, swapping fifth-round picks with the Seahawks for a young backup for J.J. McCarthy who has starting experience.

The Vikings sent the 142nd overall selection to the Seahawks for the 172nd overall selection to swing the deal for Howell, who passed for 3,946 yards in 2023 while starting all 17 games for the Washington Commanders.

Howell led the league that season with 21 interceptions and 65 sacks for a 4-13 team, but the 2022 fifth-round pick is just 24 years old and joining a quarterback-friendly offense directed by coach Kevin O’Connell.

Baseball

White Sox trade with Cubs >> The Chicago White Sox acquired infielder Gage Workman in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

The White Sox sent cash to the Cubs for Workman, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday. Infielder Nick Maton was designated for assignment by the South Siders to make room on their roster.

The White Sox also traded outfielder Travis Jankowski to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash. The 33-year-old Jankowski hit .214 (3 for 14) in seven games with the White Sox.

Former Cardinals, Reds GM dies at 74 >> Walt Jocketty, a three-time baseball executive of the year and former general manager for both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, has died. He was 74.

Jocketty died in the Phoenix area, former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the team after speaking with Jocketty’s wife Sue.

Jocketty had been battling health issues for the several years. The Cardinals won the National League Central Division seven times under Jocketty’s leadership.

Twins acquire infielder from Phillies >> The Minnesota Twins acquired infielder Kody Clemens from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Clemens, the 28-year-old son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Wednesday. The Twins were in need of another infielder after rookie Luke Keaschall broke his forearm in the first inning of Friday’s game against the Angels.

Tennis

Djokovic loses opening matches in Madrid Open >> After losing a second straight opening match and three in a row overall, Novak Djokovic said he was facing a “new reality” in his two decades of pro tennis.

Djokovic’s public coming to terms with his rare losing streak came after he fell in straight sets to Matteo Arnaldi in his first match of the Madrid Open.

The 37-year-old Djokovic came to Spain after also losing his opener to Alejandro Tabilo at the Monte Carlo Masters two weeks ago and, before that, the Miami Open final.