New Abdul Carter Injury Rumors, Timeline to Return After Limping Off at Giants Practice

The injury that caused New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter to leave Monday's practice early has been classified as a "minor ankle sprain," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday.

Carter was on the field and participating in Wednesday's practice, which The Athletic's Dan Duggan reported was "basically a walk-through."

Carter had his left ankle examined after limping off the field Monday, per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.

"Giants head coach John Harbaugh said after Monday's practice Carter's injury "doesn't look serious."

"Looks like he twisted his ankle to some degree," Harbaugh said after Monday's practice.

The news that Carter's injury likely isn't significant will come as a relief to a Giants team that is looking for the No. 3 pick of the 2025 draft to take a step forward in his second NFL season.

Carter recorded 43 tackles and 4.0 sacks in 17 games with six starts and was benched twice after arriving twice to team meetings.

He also ranked 11th among edge defenders with 72 quarterback pressures and led the league with 48 pressures made in under 2.5 seconds, per NFL NextGen Stats cited by NFL researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno and ESPN's Jordan Raanan.

The Giants recently selected former Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese with the No. 5 pick of the 2026 draft to join a pass rushing unit of Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported in May the Giants had decided to keep Thibodeaux on the roster after drafting Reese in part because the team values Thibodeaux at a price "significantly higher than what the rest of the league offered."

"'You can never have enough pass rushers' is something you've consistently heard from coach John Harbaugh and the Giants this offseason," Raanan reported in May.

That depth means the Giants have players who can step up if one of their pass rushers is injured this offseason. For now, the Giants will hope to have Carter, Burns and Thibodeaux available so Harbaugh can continue working out their fit with Reese when training camp kicks off in July.