Jordan Raanan
- Jordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Abdul Carter was benched for the New York Giants’ opening series Sunday because the rookie was asleep at the team facility and missed a recent walk-through, a source told ESPN.
Carter didn’t play during the opening defensive series in the Giants’ home loss to the Green Bay Packers. The linebacker took accountability after the game for the incident, which happened during the week, and said he has to accept the consequences for his actions.
On Monday, Carter responded to a social media post sharing The Athletic’s report on the walk-through. He denied sleeping through it.
“Was not sleep, actually doing recovery,” Carter posted. “Nonetheless that’s on ME!”
Carter later posted on X: “When the hate don’t work they start telling lies!”
When the hate don’t work they start telling lies!
— Abdul Carter (@1NCRDB1) November 17, 2025
Carter had one tackle, one quarterback hit and two pressures in 45 snaps Sunday after the discipline. He played every snap the rest of the way after he was expected to start in place of the injured Kayvon Thibodeaux. Former practice squad player Tomon Fox started in his place.
It has been a rough rookie season for Carter, the No. 3 selection in this year’s NFL draft. He has just 0.5 sacks in his first 11 career games, although he has had multiple sacks negated by penalties.
The Athletic added that being late to meetings has been a trend for Carter during his rookie season under Brian Daboll. But Daboll was fired last week and replaced by Mike Kafka, who decided the correct punishment was to keep Carter out for the opening series.
The Giants (2-9), who lost their fifth straight game Sunday, play on the road against the Detroit Lions in Week 12.
