T. J. Carter (defensive back)
{{Short description|American football player (born 1999)}}
{{For|the American football defensive lineman|T. J. Carter (defensive lineman)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = T. J. Carter
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team =
| number =
| position = Strong safety
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|4|3}}
| birth_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lbs = 193
| high_school = Hendersonville (TN)
Stratford (TN)
| college = Memphis (2017–2020)
TCU (2021)
| undraftedyear = 2022
| pastteams =
- Los Angeles Rams ({{NFL Year|2022}})
- Birmingham Stallions ({{USFL Year|2023}}–{{UFL Year|2024}})
| status =
| highlights =
- UFL champion (2024)
- USFL champion (2023)
- AAC Rookie of the Year (2017)
- 2× Second-team All-AAC (2017, 2018)
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 1
| statlabel2 = Tackles
| statvalue2 = 1
| statseason = 2023
| statleague = NFL
| statweek =
| pfr = CartTJ00
}}
T. J. Carter (born April 3, 1999) is an American football strong safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Memphis and TCU and was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in {{NFL Year|2022}}.
Early life
Carter was born on April 3, 1999, in Nashville, Tennessee.{{Cite web |title=T.J. Carter Stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CartTJ00.htm |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}} He attended Hendersonville High School, where he played football as a sophomore and junior.{{Cite web |title=T.J. Carter |url=https://gofrogs.com/sports/football/roster/t-j--carter/12294 |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=TCU Horned Frogs}} Playing running back, defensive back, and return specialist,{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Michael |date=September 24, 2016 |title=Carter All Over The Field In Win |page=C5 |work=The Tennessean |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115484346/the-tennessean/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} Carter led the team with 1,084 rushing yards as a junior and was named all-mid-state by The Tennessean, 6-5A Specialty Player of the Year, and all-region. He was dismissed from the team prior to his senior year due to violating team rules, and subsequently transferred to Stratford High School.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Michael |date=August 11, 2016 |title=Transfer To Stratford Gives Carter 2nd Chance |page=C2 |work=The Tennessean |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115484215/the-tennessean/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} Carter helped Stratford compile an undefeated regular season record, while gaining over 2,100 all-purpose yards and scoring 22 touchdowns. He was rated by Scout.com the best defensive back in all of Tennessee, and according to 247Sports and Rivals.com was among the top-50 players at the position nationally.
After graduating from Stratford, Carter announced his commitment to play college football at Memphis.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Michael |date=September 2, 2016 |title=Stratford's T.J. Carter commits to Memphis |work=The Tennessean |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/high-school/2016/09/02/stratfords-tj-carter-commits-memphis/89766664/ |access-date=March 4, 2023}} He became a starter as a true freshman in 2017{{Cite news |last=Schad |first=Tom |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Carter In Line To Start First College Game |page=C3 |work=The Tennessean |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115484661/the-tennessean/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} and appeared in all 13 games, posting a school freshman record five interceptions. He also placed fifth on the roster with 69 tackles. As a sophomore, Carter was third on the team with 68 tackles, recorded two interceptions, and tallied a team-leading 12 pass breakups while appearing in all 14 matches.
In 2019, as a junior, Carter appeared in 12 of the team's 14 games and posted 39 tackles, a forced fumble and recovery, and seven passes broken up. The following season, he made 11 tackles in seven appearances. After receiving one extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter transferred to TCU in 2021.{{Cite news |date=January 18, 2021 |title=TCU football adds Memphis transfer, versatile DB T.J. Carter |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/big-12/texas-christian-university/article248593265.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 4, 2023}} As a fifth-year senior, he started ten games, missing the final two due to injury, and placed second on the team with 63 tackles.{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=Drew |date=April 25, 2022 |title=TCU's T.J. Carter will bring versatility to NFL team |page=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115485392/fort-worth-star-telegram/ B2] |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115485298/fort-worth-star-telegram/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 9 1/4
| weight = 189
| dash = 4.57
| ten split = 1.52
| twenty split = 2.71
| shuttle = 4.15
| cone drill = 7.21
| vertical = 37.0
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 5
| arm span = 30 3/4
| hand span = 8 3/8
| note = All values from Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1021751&DraftYear=2022 |title=T.J. Carter College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=August 27, 2024}}
}}
=Los Angeles Rams=
After going unselected in the 2022 NFL draft, Carter was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams.{{Cite magazine |last=Howard |first=Nicholas |date=May 2, 2022 |title=TCU Football: Dreams to Reality |url=https://www.si.com/college/tcu/frogs-in-the-pros/tcu-football-four-players-signed-nfl |access-date=March 4, 2023 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}} He was waived on May 17, but then brought back the following day.{{Cite magazine |date=May 18, 2022 |title=Rams Re-sign Four Waived Undrafted Free Agents |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/news/los-angeles-re-sign-four-waived-undrafted-free-agents |access-date=March 4, 2023 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}} At the final roster cuts on August 30, he was waived, but afterwards was re-signed to the practice squad.{{Cite web |last=DaSilva |first=Cameron |date=August 31, 2022 |title=Rams signing DBs T.J. Carter and Dan Isom to practice squad |url=https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2022/08/31/rams-practice-squad-dan-isom-tj-carter-signings/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=USA Today}} Carter was elevated to the active roster for their Week 16 match versus the Denver Broncos,{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Ely |date=December 24, 2022 |title=Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/22 |url=https://www.profootballrumors.com/2022/12/minor-nfl-transactions-12-24-22 |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=Pro Football Rumors}} and made his NFL debut in the 51–14 win, recording one tackle.{{Cite web |title=TJ Carter |url=https://www.therams.com/team/players-roster/tj-carter/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Rams}} He signed a reserve/futures contract on January 9, 2023.{{Cite tweet |user=RamsNFL |number=1612550008045473792 |title= LA Rams Transactions: • Reserve/Future Contracts TE Roger Carter, DB T.J. Carter, DE T.J. Carter, DB Richard LeCounte, T Max Pircher, WR Jaquarii Roberson, WR Jerreth Sterns, DE Brayden Thomas, DE Zach VanValkenburg}} On March 10, Carter was waived.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Charean |title=Rams officially release Leonard Floyd, seven others |url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/10/rams-officially-release-leonard-floyd-seven-others/amp/ |access-date=10 March 2023 |website=NBCSports.com |archive-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310234048/https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/10/rams-officially-release-leonard-floyd-seven-others/amp/ |url-status=dead }}
=Birmingham Stallions=
Carter signed with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL on March 20, 2023.{{cite tweet |user=USFLStallions |title=Free Agent Signing |number=1637957177754386432 |date=March 20, 2023 |access-date=March 20, 2023}} He was released on March 10, 2024.{{Cite news |title=UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58 |url=https://uflboard.com/news/ufl-teams-set-their-training-camp-rosters-to-58/ |website=UFLBoard.com |date=March 10, 2024 |access-date=March 10, 2024}} He was re-signed on May 7, 2024,{{Cite web |title=UFL Transactions |url=https://uflboard.com/ufl-transactions/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=UFLBoard.com |language=en-US}} and again on August 19, 2024.{{cite tweet |user=UFL_PR |title=The #UFL has announced the following transactions |number=1825644629485650394 |date=August 19, 2024 |access-date=August 20, 2024}} He was released on February 7, 2025.{{Cite web |last=Larsen |first=James |date=2025-02-07 |title=Mario Goodrich & DaVonte Lambert Sign UFL Contracts |url=https://pfnewsroom.com/news/mario-goodrich-davonte-lambert-sign-ufl-contracts/ |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Pro Football Newsroom |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://gofrogs.com/sports/football/roster/t-j--carter/12294 TCU Horned Frogs bio]
{{2023 Birmingham Stallions}}
{{2024 Birmingham Stallions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Tj}}
Category:American football defensive backs
Category:American football return specialists
Category:American football running backs
Category:Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:Memphis Tigers football players
Category:TCU Horned Frogs football players