Potential top overall NFL draft pick Abdul Carter considering foot surgery

Penn State All-America edge rusher and projected #1 2025 NFL Draft pick Abdul Carter is dealing with a stress reaction in his right foot.

BY FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

Feb 27, 2025, 7:37 AM

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 26: Abdul Carter #DL44 of Penn State speaks to the media during th...

(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Penn State All-America edge rusher Abdul Carter is mulling whether to have surgery after tests revealed he is dealing with a stress reaction in his right foot, agent Drew Rosenhaus said late Wednesday night.

“There are mixed opinions on whether he needs surgery, and we will figure that out in the near future,” Rosenhaus said of Carter, who is the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in April.

Rosenhaus said Carter has two options. He could either have preemptive surgery and have a screw inserted in his right foot, with the result being a return to running in approximately eight weeks.

Or, he could bypass surgery and work out at his pro day at Penn State on March 28.

Tests today revealed that potential No. 1 pick Abdul Carter has a stress reaction in his right foot and the Penn State standout will need to decide soon whether to have surgery, sources told ESPN.

“There are mixed opinions on whether he needs surgery, and we will figure that out… pic.twitter.com/9nyRyjFxlG

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2025

More on projected top NFL Draft pick Abdul Carter

“Either way, worst-case scenario, we don’t expect this to impact where he is drafted,” Rosenhaus said. “After visiting with teams this week, I believe he’s going to be the No. 1 overall pick.”

The news came out hours after Carter said he felt it was “very realistic” that he would be the top overall pick of the draft.

“I feel like I’m the best player in the country. The best player should be selected No. 1,” he said.

Abdul Carter is not working out at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week because he still is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered late last season.

Carter was injured in the Nittany Lions’ 31-14 victory over Boise State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Dec. 31, and he played through the injury when Notre Dame downed Penn State 27-24 in a semifinal game on Jan. 9.

A consensus All-America selection and the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Carter had 68 tackles, including 23.5 for loss to lead the FBS, plus 12 sacks and two forced fumbles in 16 games.

Carter, a former linebacker who moved this season to defensive end, had 172 career tackles — 41 for loss — along with 23 sacks and five forced fumbles in 42 games for Penn State the past three seasons.

–Field Level Media

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Taking time off is great, but San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch would prefer not to start vacation mode again in January.

From the Super Bowl to missing the playoffs, San Francisco had more time than usual to plot a strategy for the upcoming offseason after finishing the 2024 season with a 6-11 record. The 49ers last finished with fewer than 10 wins in a season in 2020 (6-10).

“We need to get younger,” Lynch said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine

In 2020, that meant reloading the defensive line — defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was the 14th overall pick — and selecting wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk with a second first-round pick. They also drafted wide receiver Jauan Jennings in the seventh round.