Daniel Carlson Breaks Silence on Giving up Jersey Number to Ashton Jeanty originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After averaging a league-worst 79.8 yards per game on the ground last year, the Las Vegas Raiders splurged on running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Jeanty, who ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024, was nicknamed “Deuce” while at Boise State because he wore No. 2 on his jersey. Unfortunately, that number belonged to Raiders’ All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson when he was drafted.
However, Carlson ultimately gave up the uniform number to the rookie shortly after the draft. Jeanty admitted on an episode of Up & Adams that he paid a hefty price to buy the number off the veteran.
Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty (2).Candice Ward-Imagn Images
Carlson recently broke his silence on the matter, however, when he spoke to the media on Tuesday. He talked about his initial impressions of Jeanty and how the negotiation process went.
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“I mean, just a high character guy, so it was really easy,” Carlson said. “I wouldn’t even call it a negotiation necessarily. Just a couple discussions, you know, it was super great. And I mean, everything I’ve seen on the field so far, I’m no expert, but he looks the part for sure.”
When one reporter tried to figure out exactly how much Jeanty sent him, Carlson had a tongue and cheek response.
“No, no new cars,” Carlson laughed.
Carlson is looking to rebound this season after making just 85.0% of his field goals in 2024, which was his lowest mark since his second year in 2019. He earned back-to-back All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2022, but he has not reached that level in two years.
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Perhaps his changing back to the No. 8 will rejuvenate Carlson and allow him to leave the 2024 season in the past. Jeanty, by that same token, will be looking to give new life to the No. 2 in 2025.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.