New York Giants rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter was benched for the first series of Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers for what he said was ‘a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team.’
On Monday, details behind what drove interim coach Mike Kafka’s decision emerged.
Carter was held out of action to start the game after he slept through a team walk-through in the lead-up to the game, The Athletic and ESPN reported.
Carter later countered the reports on social media.
In his first game leading the team after coach Brian Daboll’s firing, Kafka made the decision to address Carter’s trend of being late to meetings this season, The Athletic reported.
Kafka did not divulge details about any incident, saying only he had discussed the matter with Carter.
‘That was the coach’s decision,’ Kafka said after the game. ‘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.’
The No. 3 overall pick in April, Carter has just ½ sack in his rookie season but is tied for 17th in the NFL with 37 total pressures, according to Next Gen Stats.