As the New York Giants lined up for their first defensive series against the Green Bay Packers, they were without their first-round pick, Abdul Carter.
While Carter has officially only started one game for the Giants, he entered the Week 11 matchup having played 69% of the defensive snaps for New York. But he was conspicuous by his absence to begin what proved to be a thrilling game at MetLife Stadium, with the Giants falling to 2-9 with a 27-20 defeat.
Carter’s first snap of the game was on special teams, though he did then come into the contest as a defensive player following the first series. Asked for the reasoning for the temporary benching, interim Giants head coach Mike Kafka gave little away.
Why Was Abdul Carter Benched For The First Series?
Speaking in his postgame press conference, Kafka said Carter’s benching was solely his decision and refused to divulge any more about the situation, per Connor Hughes of SNY.
“That was a coach’s decision. That was my decision. We’ll just keep the rest in-house,” Kafka said.
Mike Kafka said that Abdul Carter’s benching for the first series was a “coach’s decision” and they will keep the rest in house. #Giants
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 16, 2025
However, Carter did elaborate somewhat when he spoke to reporters in the locker room.
Per Pat Leonard of The New York Daily News, Carter said the benching came after he made a mistake during the week, though he would not specify as to the nature of his error.
It has been a difficult rookie season for Carter in terms of production, with his raw numbers struggling to justify his status as the third overall pick in this year’s draft.
Indeed, Carter has just half a sack to his name so far this season. He entered Week 11 with eight quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. The former Penn State star had only one tackle against the Packers.
The advanced numbers are a little more favorable to Carter, who went into the week ranked 34th of 100 EDGEs in PFSN’s Impact metrics.
But Carter was thought of by many as the best overall player in the 2025 class. Given how highly touted Carter was coming into the league, he and the Giants would be forgiven for being a little disappointed with his output to this point.
In another lost season, the Giants will need to find some positives down the stretch. Carter will hope to put this episode behind him and serve as a bright spot for New York in the final weeks of the season by delivering the kind of impact most expected from him in year one.