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New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter has denied reports that he was benched for the start of Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers because he slept through a team walk-through. 

Under first-week interim head coach Mike Kafka, Carter was benched for New York's first defensive series against Green Bay. Per The Athletic and ESPN, Carter was sidelined for that series as discipline because he was asleep at the team facility when the Giants conducted a walk-through in preparation for the game. 

Carter, a first-round draft pick, responded to The Athletic's Dan Duggan on social media Monday denying that his benching was due to being asleep.

"Was not sleep, actually doing recovery," Carter wrote. "Nonetheless that’s on ME!

He then added this:

The Athletic cited team sources in its report. Per the report, Carter being late to meetings had become a trend under head coach Brian Daboll, whom the Giants fired last week. Per the report, Kafka disciplined Carter on his first week on the job for a violation after Daboll had declined to do so. 

Kafka did not address the reason for Carter's brief benching in his postgame comments with reporters. 

“I love Abdul and what he brings to this team, the skill set he has ... this guy loves ball,” Kafka said, per NJ.com. “And I’m excited again to watch him attack this week of practice, and continue to work and grow and be the great player that I think he is.”

Perry Knotts via Getty Images

Per The Athletic, Carter initially acknowledged that he "made a mistake" that resulted in his benching in his own postgame comments.

“I made a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team,” Carter said. “That was the consequence, so (I) had to live with it.”

The Giants selected Carter out of Penn State with the No. 3 pick in April's NFL Draft, anticipating that he would develop into a high-end pass rusher. So far, his career is off to a slow start. 

In 11 games, Carter has record half a sack and a single tackle for loss in addition to 23 total tackles, 9 quarterback hits and 1 fumble recovery. He played the remainder of Sunday's game after missing the first series, recording one sack and one quarterback hit. 

The Giants are off to a 2-9 start, which is the worst record in the NFC. They'll face the Detroit Lions next in Week 12. 

Rams safety Quentin Lake will be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time because of an elbow injury suffered during the Rams’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks, coach Sean McVay said Monday.

McVay said the Rams were awaiting results from an MRI exam and a consultation with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache before deciding how long Lake might be out, whether he will be placed on injured reserve or if it is a season-ending injury that would require surgery.

“Not great for our captain and leader,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “Bummed out for him.”

Lake, a team captain, has been something of an Ironman the last few seasons. He played every defensive snap in 2024 before starters were rested for the season finale. He played every snap this season before he was injured on Sunday in the 21-19 victory that improved the Rams' record to 8-2, extended their winning streak to five games and put the Rams in sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

Josh Wallace replaced Lake at the nickel spot on Sunday.

Safety Kamren Kinchens, who intercepted two passes against the Seahawks, got increased snaps in Lake’s absence. Cornerback Cobie Durant can also play inside and Roger McCreary also is a candidate to play in that spot when the Rams play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

Safety Kam Curl is an experienced veteran. But replacing Lake’s leadership is a tall order.

“You don’t replace a Quentin Lake,” McVay said. “He’s so valuable for so many reasons with what he can do, with who he is as a human, with the way that he elevates and leads. ... We’ll have to figure out what is the next best thing for us to be able to do.

“I think it would be insincere to think that you’re going to ask somebody to do the things that he’s capable of. It’s what makes him so special. But I do have a lot of confidence in the other guys.”

Read more:Rams edge Seahawks in a thriller to take sole possession of first in the NFC West

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.