Giants first-round pick dealing with more disciplinary issues with early 'MNF' benching

New York Giants rookie defensive end Abdul Carter is making more news off the field than on it.

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft was noticeably absent during the first quarter of the Giants' "Monday Night Football" road game against the New England Patriots (10-2). ESPN "MNF" sideline reporter Laura Rutledge shared that his omission from the early portion of the game — he played his first defensive snap in the second quarter — wasn't injury related but a coach's decision.

New York Post sports reporter Ryan Dunleavy noted that the benching was "for missing all/part of a team responsibility."

Abdul Carter dealing with yet another disciplinary action

This marks the second time in three games under interim coach Mike Kafka that Carter has been benched for an opening series. In Week 11, he didn't take the field on the Green Bay Packers' first drive after missing a team walkthrough.

Afterward, Carter brushed off the incident as a one-off and "honest mistake," while also shooting down rumors that he had fallen asleep during a team meeting.

"I own the fact that it was an honest mistake. I was getting treatment and I told coach Kafka that, too," Carter said. "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."

It's a troubling sign for the Giants (2-10) that Carter's problems aren't going away. When making him the team's highest-drafted defensive player since 1984 this past April, New York likely didn't envision the 2024 All-Big Ten first-team member to have 1.5 more benchings than sacks.

Carter has produced solid pressure, but it hasn't translated to impactful plays. In Week 10, NFL Pro insights wrote, "Among 61 defenders to have generated at least 20 pressures, Carter's 1.5% pressure-to-sack conversion rate ranks the third-lowest."

Carter's rookie season has been more frustrating than good. Until he nips his off-field issues in the bud, he won't come close to living up to his potential.