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Abdul Carter Benched for Second Time in Mike Kafka Era
Abdul Carter was benched again on Monday as the Giants took on the Patriots. Carter did not start because of a coach's decision for the second time in three games since Mike Kafka took over as head coach in New York.
Two weeks ago, the prized rookie missed the start of the Giants loss to the Packers. It was reported that he had slept through a walkthrough, but Carter denied that, saying he had been undergoing treatment at the time.
Two weeks later, he was back on the bench at the start of another game. This time he sat out the entire first quarter as the Patriots jumped out to a 17-0 lead.
It appears as if #Giants rookie OLB Abdul Carter, who was benched earlier this season for missing a walk thru (and repeated meeting tardiness) has once again been benched.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) December 2, 2025
He has not been on the field for New York's first drive.
Unbelievable.
Giants are calling Abdul Carter not playing a "coach's decision," per ESPN's Laura Rutledge. Plan is for him to play at some point.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 2, 2025
Carter still not in game as the first quarter comes close to a conclusion. This is not good for the No. 3 overall pick, who was previous benched.
Source: #Giants Abdul Carter was benched again for missing all/part of a team responsibility, a league source tells me. That's twice in three games under interim head coach Mike Kafka.
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) December 2, 2025
Part of a recurring theme this season.@On3Richie was on this yesterday.
Carter, the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, made headlines because he was entertaining the idea of asking to wear Lawrence Taylor's retired No. 56 jersey, but he settled for No. 51.
He came into the Giants-Patriots game tied for 10th on the team in tackles with 27 and has recorded just one-half of a single sack through 12 games. He has yet to break out the touchdown celebration he has planned.
The Giants are off to a 2-10 start and fired their head coach in November.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.