Amid the New York Giants‘ disastrous 2025 season, one of the most obvious issues has been No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter.
Carter has been benched twice over New York’s last three games, each time for being late to team meetings and other mandatory obligations.
While the Penn State product was benched for the first time in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, a new report suggests that Carter’s tardiness has been an issue all season.
In fact, former head coach Brian Daboll fined the former Nittany Lion multiple times for his absences, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“The rookie pass rusher has had issues all year with being late and/or missing team obligations. Now fired coach Brian Daboll fined Carter for it on multiple occasions,” wrote Breer.
“Interim coach Mike Kafka has been heavier handed with it, with the most recent benching coming after Carter was also sat down for the start of the Giants’ Week 11 game against the Packers.”
Abdul Carter’s Pre-Draft Concerns
In a report from SNY’s NFL insider Connor Hughes, the New York Giants were well aware of Carter’s off-field issues before making him the third overall pick in last April’s draft.
“Concerns existed during Carter’s draft evaluation. On the field, he was considered one of the most physically gifted defenders in the class, posting 12 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss in his final season at Penn State,” wrote Hughes.
“Off the field, though, scouts questioned his maturity and consistency. Several evaluators believed he would need a strong organizational structure around him to reinforce professional habits.”
“‘You knew you’d have to deal with some BS,’ one coach who scouted him said. A scout added that Carter sometimes acted as if certain rules didn’t apply to him. He was never ‘belligerent’ or ‘disrespectful,’ one general manager said, but teams flagged the need for oversight.”
Clearly, the Giants don’t have the in-house leadership to keep Carter in check, as evidenced by his transgressions this season.
The rookie edge rusher has the talent to be one of the game’s premier sack-getters; he just hasn’t been able to put it all together off the field yet.
Joe Schoen Defends Abdul Carter
At his bye week press conference, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen defended Carter and stressed the fact that the rookie is still learning the ropes of being an NFL athlete.
“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. These kids are 21 years old and thrust into the spotlight in New York City,” Schoen said to reporters.
“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. We will continue to do that with everybody in our organization.”
Schoen didn’t go as far as to object to Mike Kafka’s benching of Carter: “I support him with that decision and I’ll just leave it at that.”
But the draft pick is just another mark on the spotted resume of Schoen’s decisions as the general manager in New York.
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