New York Giants rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter was benched for the first quarter of the team’s eventual 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots on Monday night after he was late to a meeting. It marked the second time in the last three weeks that Carter had been benched.
When the Giants starting defense took the field, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was nowhere to be found. However, Carter entered the game in the second quarter and recorded one sack to go along with four tackles. The Patriots already jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Carter took his first snap.
Interim coach Mike Kafka said that it was “his decision” to bench Carter. When the rookie was asked why he was held on the sideline for the opening quarter, he refused to give any details.
“Shit happens,” Carter said. “I ain’t going to get into detail, like I said, shit happens.”
After Carter had a day to think about it, he told reporters that he’s actually “glad” he’s going through these trials, saying that he will be a better professional for it.
“I’m learning a lot in terms of just being a man, being in the NFL, just going through it,” Carter said Tuesday, per NFL.com. “I’m learning a lot and I’m glad I’m going through it so I can be better prepared in the future.”
In Week 11, Carter was held out for the opening series vs. the Green Bay Packers. It was reported that the rookie was benched for sleeping through a walkthrough. Carter said this was untrue, and that a schedule change led to his confusion. He claimed he was getting treatment at the time he should have been at practice.
“My mistake was an honest mistake,” Carter told ESPN at the time. “I own the fact that it was an honest mistake. I was getting treatment and I told Coach Kafka that, too. But to say I was sleeping at that time just wasn’t true. And it also wasn’t a trend. This was the only time it happened.”
During his bye week press conference on Tuesday, Giants general manager Joe Schoen was asked about Carter’s issues, and he stood by Kafka’s decision to bench the rookie while also defending his No. 3 overall pick.
“Abdul is a young man that’s 21 years old, that’s smart and understands the magnitude of his actions and also understands what it means to be a pro,” Schoen said. “And these kids are 21 years old, and they’re thrust into the spotlight in New York City and it’s not always going to be perfect. People make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. Part of our job is to develop them as football players, but also as people and we will continue to do that with everybody in this organization.”
In 13 games played this season with two starts, Carter has recorded 31 tackles, 13 QB hits, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Considered to be one of the best players in the 2025 NFL Draft, Carter became the third Penn State defensive player to be selected in the top three in the common draft era. He recorded 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in his final collegiate season, making him the first FBS player to reach both of those marks since former Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. did so in 2021.