New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter knows he has a lot of growing up to do after his second benching of the season.
"I'm learning a lot in terms of just being a man, being in the NFL, just going through it," he said Tuesday ahead of the Giants' bye week. "I'm learning a lot and I'm glad I'm going through it so I can be better prepared in the future."
Carter was benched for the first quarter of Monday’s loss to New England, the second time this season the No. 3 overall pick has been disciplined by the club. The club didn't announce the reason for the benching other than to say it was a coaching decision by Mike Kafka.
Carter has taken criticism from his own teammates, with captain Dexter Lawrence calling him "hard-headed."
"Just grow up, really," Lawrence said, noting the issues are "young stuff that can't happen."
Carter was asked how he responds when a teammate calls him out.
"I take it. The guys who say that, those are guys I look up to, guys I respect," he said. "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."
On Tuesday, general manager Joe Schoen, who made Carter a top-three selection, defended the decision to bench the first-rounder, but also fought against the perception that it's becoming an issue for the rookie.
"Abdul is a young man that's 21 years old, that's smart and understands the magnitude of his actions and also understands what it means to be a pro," the GM said. "And these kids are 21 years old, and they're thrust into the spotlight in New York City and it's not always going to be perfect. People make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. Part of our job is to develop them as football players, but also as people and we will continue to do that with everybody in this organization."
Carter said that how he responds on the field will be more important than the off-field discipline.
"I would say just what I do on the field after I've been through all this adversity, all the controversy," he said. "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?"
If Carter does indeed become a force on the field, his rookie struggles will be a sidenote in his story. However, if things continue to spiral with Big Blue, it could be his defining moment. We've seen other first-rounders quickly wash out in New York.
