The Giants dropped another one on Monday Night Football, falling 33-15 to the Patriots and slipping to 2-11 on the season. But the score wasn’t the only storyline out of this game. The bigger headline-at least in the Giants' locker room-was the absence of rookie linebacker Abdul Carter to start the game.
Carter, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and one of the few bright spots in a tough year for New York, didn’t take the field until the second quarter. By the time he did, the Patriots had already jumped out to a 17-0 lead. The Giants confirmed his absence wasn’t injury-related, and it didn’t take long for questions to start flying.
At halftime, ESPN's Laura Rutledge asked interim head coach Mike Kafka what led to Carter being sidelined. Kafka didn’t offer much, simply calling it a “coach’s decision.” After the game, that same phrase became his refrain during a tense press conference that lasted several minutes but offered little in the way of clarity.
“That was a coach’s decision. My decision,” Kafka said when asked why Carter didn’t start.
Pressed further-was it disciplinary?-he stuck to the same line. “No, it was just my decision to not play him.”
When asked what prompted that decision, Kafka pointed vaguely to the week of preparation: “Just based on how we went during the week, that was the decision I wanted to make.”
Kafka didn’t budge, no matter how many different ways the question was asked. He said he has no regrets about the move and emphasized that Carter is still one of his favorite players on the team.
But beyond that, he wasn’t letting anything out. “That was my decision and my decision only.
Anything else outside of it is going to be kept in-house.”
This isn't the first time Carter’s been benched this season. Just a few weeks ago, he sat for a drive against the Packers after missing a team walkthrough.
That incident sparked some confusion, with reports suggesting he overslept-something Carter later clarified, saying he had simply gotten the timing wrong. It’s possible Kafka is trying to avoid a similar media circus this time around by keeping things behind closed doors.
Carter, for his part, didn’t offer much more than his coach. After the game, the rookie gave a brief, blunt assessment of the situation.
“S--- happens,” he said. “I ain’t gonna get into details.
Like I said, s--- happens... I let my team down again.
Just say he was late to a meeting ffs... Mike Kafka on Abdul Carter pic.twitter.com/PRGiqQLPrh
— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) December 2, 2025
First two drives, I was out. They scored 17 points.
I take responsibility for that. I gotta be out there.
Abdul Carter: “Shit happens. … I let my team down today.” #giants pic.twitter.com/BEzDBbBsXC
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) December 2, 2025
I gotta do better.”
He was also asked if he felt the message from the coaching staff had been received. He didn’t elaborate.
Later that night, Carter took to social media to defend himself, posting on X: “Stop slandering my name real s--! & if you believe that bs you stupid!”
It’s been a rocky rookie campaign for Carter-flashes of elite pass-rushing talent, but also these moments of friction that raise questions about accountability and communication inside the Giants’ building. For a team already in the midst of a lost season, having to discipline its top draft pick twice in a month is a concern, no matter how much is kept “in-house.”
The Giants have a lot to figure out over the final stretch of the season, and that includes how they handle their young cornerstone players. Carter’s potential is sky-high, but consistency-on and off the field-will be key if he's going to become the leader this defense needs him to be.