The New York Giants had a mystery at the beginning of the Week 13 game against the New England Patriots after first-round pick and edge rusher Adbul Carter was not spotted on the field.
And it stayed that way through the entire first quarter, as Carter didn't emerge from the bench until the second frame.
It was later revealed that Carter was benched for a "coach's decision."
That "coach's decision" stemmed from Carter "missing all/part of a team responsibility," according to The New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy, who notes this is the second time Carter has been disciplined in three weeks.
When asked about his benching after the game, Carter offered a two-word response that didn't give us any details about what caused the punishment:
“S*** happens,” Carter said, per SNY's Connor Hughes.
Carter did say he let his team down and admitted he has to do better. Carter added that it has nothing to do with interim head coach Mike Kafka and it's all on him.
Full interview: Abdul Carter on his 2nd benching in 3 weeks https://t.co/rMdu0Ffoci via @YouTube
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) December 2, 2025
Speaking of Kafka, he didn't offer much more.
Kafka didn't go into detail other than to say it was "my decision," and The Athletic's Dan Duggan noted that Kafka's approach to handling the questions was "bizarre."
"Mike Kafka just keeps reiterating it was 'my decision' to bench Abdul Carter for the first quarter. Truly bizarre handling of this topic," Duggan wrote.
"Mike Kafka offers virtually nothing on Abdul Carter other than saying the team has 'high standards' and this was 'my decision' to bench him," SNY's Connor Hughes added.
Carter's latest infraction comes just a few weeks after he was benched during the game versus the Green Bay Packers after he missed a walk-through, with a rumor suggesting Carter was asleep during it, something he has denied.
This time around, the punishment was a bit more severe, as Carter missed an entire quarter as opposed to the one series he was benched for last time around.
Whether or not it will be enough for him to learn his lesson remains to be seen.
The rookie did notch his first full sack on Monday night against the Pats, while also adding four tackles. The sack was his first since he recorded half of one all the way back in Week 1.
Whoever the next Giants head coach is will have to make keeping Carter in line a priority, although we can only hope the rookie corrects his issue himself.
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