The NFC East is going to get a heavy dose of relentless pass rushing from the New York Giants. The trio of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter is objectively terrifying. And that’s before you include Dexter Lawrence, Chauncey Golston, and Darius Alexander into the mix.
Stopping any combination of those six is going to be a nightmare, but a recent video coming out of New York Giants training camp might have just revealed the secret to slowing down at least one of them — but it doesn’t seem all that reliable when push comes to shove.
Related: It took one practice for Jaguars to instantly regret passing on Abdul Carter
While going through light agility drills, Carter was seen exploding out of his upright stance, only to get tripped up... by his cleats. It seems the only thing that’s going to stop the 21-year-old is his own equipment:
Abdul Carter is so fast, he runs out of his cleat 🔥 He’s fine. pic.twitter.com/EM7yjQITtT
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) July 25, 2025
So, unless one of the teams in their division can play double-agent and get into the Giants’ equipment room to replace Carter’s cleats with ones a couple sizes too big, camp would suggest there’s not much else that can slow down the Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite. You hate to see it.
It looks like the only thing that can stop Abdul Carter are his cleats
The sheer fact Carter's cleats have to hang on for dear life during training camp reps should speak volumes without saying a thing. This guy clearly doesn't believe in taking any days off and it's what could make him one of the league's brightest young stars.
The cleat incident comes one day after he put together one of the most unreal camp highlight films in recent memory. No, pads aren't on yet. But his dominance, literally lining up everywhere on the field (on the edge, inside, standing up), suggests defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is only going to put him in opportunities where he can win every snap. And that's a luxury not many teams have.
If Carter’s biggest issue right now is staying upright because he’s too explosive for his own cleats, the rest of the NFC East has a real problem. And if Bowen keeps using him the way it looks like he will, it’s probably only going to get worse from here.