Giants LB Abdul Carter benched for opening drive vs. Patriots, per report

New York Giants rookie linebacker Abdul Carter was not on the field for the first defensive series of Monday’s Week 13 road contest against the New England Patriots. This was a coach’s decision, ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge said on the Monday Night Football broadcast.

It appears to be a disciplinary issue for Carter. On3‘s Richie O’Leary reported Sunday that Carter was late to a meeting and expected to be benched Monday. Carter has not been on the field for the entirety of the first quarter at time of writing.

Carter, the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, was also benched for the opening series of the 27-20 Week 11 home defeat to the Green Bay Packers. Jordan Raanan of ESPN reported that Carter was asleep at the team facility and missed a walk-through that week, leading to his benching for one series.

Carter later denied that he fell asleep at the facility. He said that interim head coach Mike Kafka changed the normal practice times, and he didn’t realize the change was made until it was too late. Carter added he was getting treatment at the time of the walk-through and addressed his absence from practice in a FaceTime call with Kafka later that day.

Abdul Carter benched… again

“Well, I’d say the first thing is, Abdul, he’s got my full support,” Kafka said at the time. “We’re all here for him, our coaches, the players, the leadership group. 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. So, I’d expect him to approach it like he does every day.

“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.

Carter was expected to be an immediate contributor for the Giants. While he’s flashed at times, he’s yet to have a breakout performance. Carter has 27 tackles (15 solo), one tackle for loss, 12 quarterback hits and half a sack.