When the New York Giants filed in for Day of the OTAs at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, one prominent name was missing from the field: second-year linebacker Abdul Carter. Carter sat out Wednesday, May 28th’s practice, and missed being a part of the conversation where quarterback Jaxson Dart addressed the team about the recent tensions within the locker room.

“Giants LB Abdul Carter, a fairly key player in the recent Jaxson Dart dustup, wasn’t present for Wednesday’s team meeting, due to a family obligation,” Pro Football Talk reported on X.

Carter’s absence, as further reported by The New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, was because of a “religious holiday,” and he had also informed the team of his leave beforehand.

Abdul Carter is a practicing Muslim and was the first openly Muslim player ever drafted in the top 10 when the Giants picked him 3rd overall at the 2025 NFL draft. May 28th happens to be a continuation of Eid al-Adha, a religious holiday observed by the Muslim community. Per reports, this was the holiday he missed practice for.

Back in the 2025 Draft, before the Giants called his name, he had even spoken to reporters about a specific outfit he wore to the occasion. “Just praying to God, praying to Allah, you know, dressing like Muslims,” Carter had said at the time. “That’s what got me here.”

Regardless of the reason, Carter’s absence must have been felt at practice. In a locker room searching for identity last season, he logged 43 combined tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 23 QB hits, and 4 sacks. This year, under the leadership of new head coach John Harbaugh, New York needs all its pieces intact to make the maximum impact on the 2026 season.

The practice reps can still be made up, but the important part is the other meeting that he skipped. In the meeting, Jaxson Dart spoke to the team about the recent New York rally, from where the entire political controversy began. Of all the things Dart discussed with the team, one was about keeping things “internal” rather than airing dirty laundry for the world to see. Carter missed that conversation even though his own social media post fueled the controversy in the first place.

Jaxson Dart’s off-field headache

The tension started when Dart made the political introduction at a campaign-style rally at Rockland Community College. Abdul Carter saw a clip of Dart’s off-field moment and fired off a tweet that has since been deleted.

“Thought this sh– was AI, what we doing man,” Carter had tweeted.

The post went viral, getting around 50 million views, and quickly turned into a political split narrative between teammates, even though Carter offered a follow-up clarification soon after former NFL players called him out.

Emmanuel Acho highlighted that the conversation should have never turned public and rather stayed inside the Giants’ locker room. “This was a real error on the part of Abdul Carter, not on the part of Jaxson Dart,” Acho said.

Meanwhile, former Steelers linebacker Breiden Fehoko also accused Carter of going against his own teammate. “Abdul Carter is an idiot,” posted Breiden Fehoko on X. “It don’t matter what political beliefs you believe in you don’t call out a teammate publicly for his beliefs. Out of all people to talk.”

Carter, for his part, put an end to the speculations, noting, “Me & JD6 are good!” He also clarified that there is no bad blood between the two. “We spoke earlier as men. Yall keep yall narratives.”

In the Giants meeting, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Jameis Winston also addressed the team. Even before the meeting, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor had responded to the media narratives with a “locker room is fine” tweet.

The public disagreement was the first real misstep in a Giants offseason that has otherwise been very positive after hiring Harbaugh and drafting Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa in the top 10.

The team asked everyone to keep things internal, yet the player who broke that rule wasn’t in the room when the rule was being reinforced. Abdul Carter showed up for practice on Thursday, and now, he might have to get back up to speed with what Jaxson Dart & Co. told the team.