NY Giants Rookie OLB Abdul Carter Disciplined for Unspecified Infraction

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants rookie outside linebacker received a temporary benching from interim head coach Mike Kafka to start Sunday’s Week 11 home game against the Green Bay Packers after committing an unspecified infraction of team rules during the week.

"I made a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team," Carter said, declining to say what he did. "That was a consequence. So had to live with it."

Carter was replaced on the field by outside linebacker Tomon Fox on the first series, raising curiosity as to why he was not out there as a starter after having been announced as such.

Kafka also declined to get into specifics. “That was the coach's decision,” he said. “It's something we talked about. I want to make sure it was my decision. So, we'll just keep the rest of that in-house.”

Whatever the infraction, the bigger picture is that Kafka, in his first game as head coach, who had vowed to hold people accountable after taking the reins earlier this week, lived up to that vow.

Carter, meanwhile, said he learned from his benching. "I already know whatever I do, (is) gonna have consequences, so that was a consequence I had to live with it," he said.

Carter entered the game on the second possession, but only registered one tackle and one quarterback hit as his quiet rookie campaign continued to drag on. He has just half a sack in 11 games.

Paulson Adebo a Late Scratch

New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo was a last-minute scratch. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo was all set to return to the lineup until he wasn't.

Adebo felt soreness in his knee during pregame warmups and ended up being a scratch from the lineup.

The first sign of something amiss came during warmups, when the players took their positions for a final walkthrough.

Deonte Banks replaced Adebo on the first-team defense.

Adebo has now missed four games since injuring his knee and was one of two Giants, the other being quarterback Russell Wilson, who didn't play this week.

Kafka's Impact

Nov 16, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants interim Mike Kafka talks to line judge Mark Stewart (75) during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Over these last few weeks of the season, expect to see little tweaks made by interim head coach Mike Kafka to the team's schedule.

A couple of changes have already been made, starting with special teams meetings being held earlier in the day rather than later. The other notable change is that the players will apparently have Mondays off instead of Tuesdays, which is usually when NFL players are off.

The last Giants head coach to give his players Monday off and have them in on a Tuesday was Ben McAdoo.