Giants OLB Abdul Carter Reveals Objective for Rest of 2025 Season

New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter knows he’s not in Happy Valley anymore, where his priorities were mostly football and attending classes.

Despite knowing that, his transition to the NFL has been rocky, not just on the production side, but also in the little details it takes to be a pro that weren't always necessary at the college level.

But Carter, who is coming off his second benching in three weeks after reportedly missing a special teams meeting because he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be in on it this week, is sincere about learning and being better.

“I’m learning a lot in terms of just being a man, being in the NFL, just going through it,” he said Tuesday before the players were dismissed for the rest of the bye week.

“I’m learning a lot, and I’m glad I’m going through it so I can be better prepared in the future.”

Carter’s latest indiscretion–his second in three weeks–apparently happened long before the knowledge became public via the benchings.

Albert Breer of SI.com reported that Carter “has had issues all year with being late and/or missing team obligations,” and that ex-Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s way of handling it was to fine the rookie rather than deduct playing time, thus keeping any such infractions more in-house and away from prying eyes.

Breer also added that Brian Burns and other leaders in the linebacker position group, as well as coaches, tried to get through to Carter, apparently to no avail. That no one has been able to get through to Carter has, in the opinion of Breer, raised questions aboutabout what goes on in thein the building.

Carter, however, insisted that he’s been open-minded to the feedback received from his teammates.

“I take it,” he said. “The guys who say that, those are guys I look up to, guys I respect. So, if they say something like that, I’m going to look at myself first, like, ‘Alright, what am I doing? How can I get better?’ and prove to them that I can earn their respect.”

These last few weeks of what’s been a disappointing rookie season are a chance for Carter to show that he truly has what it takes to be successful.

“I would say just what I do on the field after I’ve been through all this adversity, all the controversy,” he said of what he wants to prove.

“How do I respond? Do I shy away from it or do I accept the challenge and become better and improve, keep improving, and be the man I’m supposed to be?”

Who he hopes to be is someone who can be counted on every week and on every snap.

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