This radio host went a bit too far with New York Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter.
We all know that Abdul Carter's rookie campaign with the New York Giants was no picnic, but when it was all said and done, Carter actually had a pretty good season.
The former No. 3 overall pick finished the year with 43 tackles, four sacks, a couple of forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries and 23 quarterback hits.
Additionally, Carter posted an 84.5 pass-rushing grade at Pro Football Focus, good for 10th among all qualifying edge rushers. And on top of that, his 66 pressures were the most by a rookie since 2019.
But that was not enough for WFAN radio host Craig Carton, who absolutely shredded Carter late this past week.
“Did you watch him play? The same guy who fell asleep in meetings?” Carton said. “Here’s the problem — and it’s so clear to me and maybe not clear to you yet, but it will be, because you’ve been beaten down for a decade now, you’re starting to see things in an incorrect manner."
Carton — a known Jets fan — went on to accuse Giants fans of accepting too little.
“You guys are now lowering your standards," Carton added. "Abdul Carter had a terrible year. Horrendous. Embarrassingly bad until the last couple weeks.”
New York Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter. Credit: Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.Horrendous? Embarrassingly bad? Really?
Carter also didn't just play well the "last couple weeks." He recorded 3.5 sacks over his final five games and racked up 15 quarterback hits over his last seven. That included a quarterback hit in each of those seven contests. He was absolutely dominant down the stretch.
Did the Penn State product live up to his billing early on? No, but he absolutely came on strong during the second half and showed why New York spent such a high draft choice on him.
Next season, Carter will probably be the Giants' No. 2 edge rusher behind Brian Burns. Kayvon Thibodeaux is a very likely trade candidate, which should allow more room for Carter to truly break out in 2026.
Expectations were astronomically high for Carter when he was drafted. He was labeled as a generational talent coming out of college, so you can understand why people were frustrated with his performance during the first half of 2025.
But he needs time to develop, and he played incredibly well over the last month-and-a-half of the campaign.
Saying he had a "horrendous" year is hyperbolic at best and asinine at worst.