What Abdul Carter said to Giants teammates about incident that led to benching

New York Giants rookie pass-rusher Abdul Carter seemingly wants to put the fact that he was benched for the opening series of the club's 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers this past Sunday behind him. 

On Wednesday, Carter confirmed that he spoke with his teammates about the punishment handed down by interim head coach Mike Kafka.

Abdul Carter "took ownership" after benching

"I have to do my job, be where I'm supposed to be at," Carter responded when asked what he said to his fellow Giants players, per the team's website. 

An initial report claimed that Carter was benched after he "missed a walk-through leading up to the (Packers) game" because he "was asleep in the team facility." He later insisted the situation occurred due to a misunderstanding after Kafka altered the practice schedule, and a subsequent story seemed to confirm that Carter was receiving treatment when the walk-through in question took place. 

"I took ownership for it," Carter added about what happened last week. "We've moved on from it. We're focused on this week, so that's what I'm trying to focus on." 

Mike Kafka defends Abdul Carter after benching

On Wednesday, Kafka told reporters that Carter has "my full support" heading into the Giants' final six games of what's become yet another disappointing season for the franchise. New York is 2-9, and Carter tallied just 0.5 sacks over his first 11 regular-season contests. 

"We're all here for him, our coaches, the players, the leadership group," Kafka added. "It's not really necessarily about Abdul, but about everybody in our unit, in our team. They've got our support, and we're here. We've got their backs. ...He practices his tail off, he plays his tail off, he's continuing to learn and grow as a young player, and I'm proud of him for how he's handled these things. It hasn't been an easy couple days, but I'm proud of him, and I think he's earned a lot of respect in the locker room and will continue to grow and be a great teammate and learn from the things that he's done." 

The Giants may need Carter to have his best performance of the season to keep things close when they play at the Detroit Lions (6-4) this Sunday. As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had Big Blue as a 10-point underdog for that matchup.