Star Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter won’t be participating in the 2025 NFL Combine, scheduled for this week in Indianapolis.
Per a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Carter won’t be working out “because he has not fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered vs. Boise State, according to his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.”
Penn St. DE and potential No. 1 pick Abdul Carter will not work out at the combine because he has not fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered vs. Boise State, according to his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. Carter played through the injury vs. Notre Dame in… pic.twitter.com/SJlgCMKqxl
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 24, 2025
Even with the bad shoulder, Carter still had a dominant last game. In Penn State’s Orange Bowl/College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame, Carter had five tackles (three solo) and a sack.
Penn State Drops Orange Bowl to Notre Dame in Heartbreaking Fashion
The season was dominant, too. Carter became the first Penn State player in almost a decade to reach double-digit sacks (12) and leads in the nation in tackles for loss (22), doing all of it in his first year as a defensive end.
The good news for Penn State fans is that Carter still plans to work out for NFL teams before the Draft.
PRO DAY STILL IN THE CARDS
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now, Abdul Carter
Per a separate report by NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Carter still plans to work out at Penn State’s Pro Day, scheduled for March 28 inside Holuba Hall.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn St edge Abdul Carter, a potential No. 1 selection, is sending letter to teams from Dr. Dan Cooper that he has been cleared to resume training and will be cleared for his pro day on March 28. Cooper examined Carter’s shoulder in Dallas earlier this month.
Carter will not…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 24, 2025
Per Rapoport, Carter is “sending letters to teams from Dr. Dan Cooper that he has been cleared to resume training and will be cleared for his pro day on March 28. Cooper examined Carter’s shoulder in Dallas earlier this month.”
Regardless of when he works out, Carter will be one of the top picks in this year’s Draft, maybe even the top pick.
NO. 1?
Could Carter go No. 1 overall in the draft? He sure can.
A Mock Draft by CBSSports is among those that foresees it happening.
“The Titans said they won’t pass on a ‘generational talent’ at the top of the draft,” wrote Garrett Podell of CBS Sports, “feels like they won’t be going quarterback with the first overall pick. Carter, the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year who led college football in tackles for loss (24) in 2024, could check that box. Dallas Cowboys All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, also a Penn State alum, told CBS Sports he trained with Carter last offseason. Tennessee decides to take a player it feels could be the next Parsons.”
The first night of the 2025 NFL Draft is scheduled for Thursday, April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
