New York Giants rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter found himself trying to clear his name in recent days after it came to light that he missed a practice last week ahead of a Week 11 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Carter was benched for the first defensive series of the afternoon, one that he described as an “honest mistake,” but not before multiple reports first accused him of sleeping through practice, then stated that his tardiness had become a trend. The No. 3 overall pick out of Penn State took to social media to clear things up, saying he was getting treatment during last week’s incident in question
“It hasn’t been that tough [of a week] for me,” Carter said, leading up to Sunday’s Week 12 clash in Detroit against the Lions. “I’m a very privileged person, a very blessed person. I’m trying to take advantage of my opportunity that I have. So, it hasn’t been that tough for me.”
The 22-year-old rebutted that interim head coach Mike Kafka had changed the practice time, and he was unaware of it.
“I took ownership for it,” he continued. “We’ve moved on from it. We’re focused on this week, so that’s what I’m trying to focus on.”
The issue has added on to what Carter has described as an “obviously” frustrating season so far. Brought in to be a game-wrecker on the outside alongside Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns, the rookie only has half a sack through 11 games.
“The first thing is, Abdul, he’s got my full support,” Kafka said. “We’re all here for him, our coaches, the players, the leadership group. It’s not really necessarily about Abdul, but about everybody in our unit, in our team. They’ve got our support, and we’re here; we’ve got their backs. So, I’d expect him to approach it like he does every day. He practices his tail off, he plays his tail off, he’s continuing to learn and grow as a young player, and I’m proud of him for how he’s handled these things. It hasn’t been an easy couple days, but I’m proud of him, and I think he’s earned a lot of respect in the locker room and will continue to grow and be a great teammate and learn from the things that he’s done.”
