Warren Sapp walks off set of interview after comment on Micah Parsons, Abdul Carter

Warren Sapp sat down with Zach Gelb ahead of Super Bowl LIX, but the NFL Hall of Fame inductee cut the interview short in jarring fashion after a question comparing Abdul Carter of Penn State to Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons.

After Sapp named Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward as the three best players available for the 2025 NFL Draft, Gelb pushed back a bit on the Super Bowl XXXVII champion, throwing Carter’s name into the mix. Evidently, Sapp isn’t putting the former Nittany Lions star in the mix for the top spot.

“What was the edge rusher from Penn State?” Sapp quipped, in response to Carter. That’s when Gelbs responded with Parsons’ name, and Sapp couldn’t believe the numbers the Cowboys star has put up, deciding to leave the set entirely: “I’m going to leave you on that one,” he stated.

Check out the video for yourself below, as Gelb shared the interaction to social media. Whether it was a slight on Carter or Parsons is the question, but Sapp didn’t like something about the Penn State duo of pass rushers.

.@WarrenSapp says the 3 best players in the draft are Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders & Cam Ward.

When I asked about Abdul Carter, he laughed & asked me who was the last good pass rusher to come out of @PennStateFball, I said Micah Parsons & Warren walked off our set.… pic.twitter.com/fskc8aIbuo

— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) February 6, 2025

While Sapp’s resume speaks for itself, as he’s a former Defensive Player of the Year who accumulated 573 total tackles and 96.5 sacks in his career, his view on Parsons and Carter is a little surprising. It’s easy to see why he’s riding for Hunter, Sanders and Ward though, as he’s currently an analyst with the Buffaloes, and he played for the Hurricanes back during his own college football career.

Regardless, the aforementioned Parsons has become one of the NFL’s best defensive players through four seasons. He’s accumulated 256 total tackles, 52.5 sacks and nine forced fumbles, reaching at least 12 sacks in each season of his career. Those are astounding numbers for the former Nittany Lions star.

If a team was to draft Carter in the top five, where he’s projected to be selected when the 2025 NFL Draft comes around, they’ll be hoping he can turn into a version of Parsons. He’s certainly capable of ascending to that level, as his play throughout his tenure in Happy Valley brought up memories of the Cowboys star time and time again. 

All told, Abdul Carter will be a hot commodity come April, even if Warren Sapp may not be the biggest fan of his or Micah Parsons. The Dallas Cowboys star has already taken the NFL by storm, and soon it’ll be Carter’s turn to try and do so, as well.