Abdul Carter's rookie season with the New York Giants has been a rocky one and a team legend is offering some advice for the first-round pick.
Carter was not on the field with the rest of the defense at the start of Monday night's game in what would prove to be a 33-15 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots. It was the second time in a three-week span that the linebacker was on the sidelines to start the game.
Few answers about the circumstances of the latest punishment emerged after the game as Carter used some blunt and colorful language when asked why he was once again an observer.
Carl Banks, a stalwart of the Giants defenses from 1984 to '92, had some blunt criticism for the young player during the team's radio broadcast.
"It's time for the kid to grow up," Banks said.
A pretty simple criticism from Carl Banks on Abdul Carter's lack of discipline tonight: "It's time for the kid to grow up." pic.twitter.com/VUSbn7SfTQ
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) December 2, 2025
"When you have these types of things and you don't care enough to be engaged and you have to be disciplined twice, how many other times has this happened and they just kind of overlooked it?" he added.
This is simply not where any team wants to be with someone they selected third overall before their first year is complete. If there's a bright side it's that Carter's issues have not had a huge impact on the team as a whole because they are 2-11 and destined to have another top pick in this coming draft.
If this is the conversation and criticism being offered on the local broadcast, that's not a good sign as those tend to skew in the direction of being glass half-full. Still, Carter is tremendously gifted and is far from the first blue-chip player to hit some speed bumps acclimating to the league so plenty of time for all involved to get on the same page.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giants Legend Had Blunt Message for Abdul Carter After Second Benching.
