Giants' Abdul Carter on maturity questions: 'I can take it'

After being benched for the second time in three games, New York Giants rookie defensive end Abdul Carter said he can “take it” when it comes to criticism from his teammates to grow up.

“The guys who say that, those are guys I look up to, guys I respect,” Carter told reporters Tuesday. “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 and go out and be who I’m supposed to be.”

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Carter missed the first quarter of the 33-15 loss to the Patriots after starting the game on the bench. By the time he was allowed on the field, the Giants were in a 17-0 hole.

He previously missed the opening series of New York’s Week 11 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Giants didn’t specify a reason for the decision, but reports said he was late to a meeting — the same reason he was benched on Nov. 16. The first time, the team thought he overslept, but Carter said he was getting treatment that led to his tardiness.

“I just would say this: That was my decision to do that,” interim coach Mike Kafka said after Monday’s loss. “And, again, those are tough decisions to make, but that was my decision and, again, the kid, nothing with him. Everything that we did was my decision and obviously I’m sure he wasn’t happy about it, which I understand, but I thought that was the best thing for the team and it was my decision to move forward with it and that’s where we’re at.”

Carter, 22, didn’t get into specifics about the situation after the game, but he did take responsibility, saying, “I let my team down. First two drives, I was out. They scored 17 points. I take responsibility for that. I have to do better.”

When asked Tuesday by reporters about criticism of him expressed by legendary Giants linebacker Carl Banks, Carter said, “I would say just what I do on the field after I’ve been through all this adversity, all the controversy. 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?”

He also said Tuesday he plans to use the bye week to do “some self-reflection” on ways to improve for the final four games of the season.

“Yeah, it’s very important to finish strong,” Carter said. “That’s just who I am as a man and just, I want to do that for my team and as a team that’s what we should do. No matter our situation, we got to finish and do our job.”

Playing the final three quarters against the Patriots, Carter collected the first full sack of his NFL career. That brought his season tally to 1 1/2 sacks along with 31 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery in 13 games (two starts).

It’s nowhere near the production Carter enjoyed at Penn State, where he had 12 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss last season.