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Abdul Carter received a rude awakening Sunday when the New York Giants sidelined him for their first defensive series against the Green Bay Packers.
Interim head coach Mike Kafka said it was a coach’s decision, prompting speculation about a potential punishment. Kafka added that he would “just keep the rest of it in-house,” and Carter himself told reporters that he had done something wrong in the week leading up to the game.
Sure enough, it turns out that it was actually a punishment for missing a team walkthrough while sleeping at the team facility, according to multiple reports.
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New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter gets ready for a play during a game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
The Athletic also reported that Carter has been “late to meetings” and former head coach Brian Daboll let it “slide.” Daboll was fired last week after the Giants blew their third double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of the season.
However, Carter denied those reports on Tuesday. The rookie said he made an “honest mistake” in not realizing a change in normal practice times after Kafka was named interim head coach so he received treatment instead. However, he claimed that he did not sleep.
“My mistake was an honest mistake,” Carter told ESPN on Tuesday. “I own the fact that it was an honest mistake. I got treatment and I told Coach Kafka that too. But to say I was asleep at the time was just not true. And it wasn’t a trend either. That was the only time it happened.”
Carter was the third overall pick out of Penn State last April, but he quickly roused the Big Blue faithful when he asked Lawrence Taylor if he could wear his famous No. 56 – LT declined.
New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (51) reacts on a play against the New York Jets in the first half at MetLife Stadium. (Rich Barnes/Imagn Images)
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Carter then approached Phil Simms for permission to wear No. 11, the same number he wore at Penn State and a badge of honor for the Nittany Lions. Simms obliged, but his family wasn’t on board, and ultimately Carter’s wish was denied. He eventually settled on No. 51.
To make matters worse, in 11 games Carter has just one half-sack. But his 17% pass-rush win rate is the 16th-best mark in the league, one spot behind teammate Brian Burns, who has 13 of the Giants’ 22 total sacks. Burns’ 13 sacks are two behind Myles Garrett for the league lead.
It shows that a market correction is in play for Carter, but it’s becoming clear that he needs to start posting actual stats quickly before he stays on the fans’ bad side.
New York Giants first round draft picks Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart pose for pictures before the start of the press conference. (Thomas Salus/Imagn Images)
With Jameis Winston at the helm due to Jaxson Dart’s concussion, New York fell to the Packers, 27-20, to move to 2-9 on the season.
