Abdul Carter had to leave the New York Giants’ practice due to injury. Does this throw the franchise’s plans into disarray?

Injury shock for the New York Giants at the start of mandatory minicamp.

According to reports, the defensive star had taken off his left shoe and sock while being examined by the trainers.

However, new head coach John Harbaugh gave a cautious all-clear after practice: “It looks like he slightly sprained his ankle, but it doesn’t seem to be anything serious.”

New York Giants: Carter Injury Could Thwart Plans

Carter was drafted third overall in 2025. He didn’t miss a single game in his rookie season, but started only six times for the Giants.

In the first twelve games, he recorded just half a sack, finishing the season with a total of 43 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

In this year’s draft, New York surprisingly selected Arvell Reese with the fifth pick—even though the franchise already has Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux at the defensive end position alongside Carter. This selection was criticized by Giants receiver Malik Nabers, among others.

Burns, in particular, put on an impressive performance last season, finishing with 16.5 sacks—only Myles Garrett had more, breaking the previous record with 23 sacks.

The original plan was for Reese not to be used as an edge rusher for the time being. As Harbaugh explained beforehand, the rookie is actually supposed to play as a linebacker for now, before the franchise trains him to be a pass rusher.

A more serious injury to Carter could throw the Giants’ plans into disarray. It remains to be seen whether Reese could then hold his own in the league’s fifth-worst defense in terms of yards allowed last season.