T._J._Carter_(defensive_back)

T. J. Carter (defensive back)

T. J. Carter (defensive back)

American football player (born 1999)

For the American football defensive lineman, see T. J. Carter (defensive lineman).

T. J. Carter (born April 3, 1999) is an American football strong safety for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Memphis and TCU and was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

Quick Facts No. 20 – Birmingham Stallions, Position: ...

Early life and education

Carter was born on April 3, 1999, in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] He attended Hendersonville High School, where he played football as a sophomore and junior.[2] Playing running back, defensive back, and return specialist,[3] 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.[2] He was dismissed from the team prior to his senior year due to violating team rules, and subsequently transferred to Stratford High School.[4] Carter helped Stratford compile an undefeated regular season record, while gaining over 2,100 all-purpose yards and scoring 22 touchdowns.[2] 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.[2]

After graduating from Stratford, Carter announced his commitment to play college football at Memphis.[5] He became a starter as a true freshman in 2017[6] and appeared in all 13 games, posting a school freshman record five interceptions.[2] He also placed fifth on the roster with 69 tackles.[2] 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.[2]

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.[2] The following season, he made 11 tackles in seven appearances.[2] After receiving one extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter transferred to TCU in 2021.[7] 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.[2][8]

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

After going unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Carter was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams.[9] He was waived on May 17, but then brought back the following day.[10] At the final roster cuts on August 30, he was waived, but afterwards was re-signed to the practice squad.[11] Carter was elevated to the active roster for their Week 16 match versus the Denver Broncos,[12] and made his NFL debut in the 51–14 win, recording one tackle.[1][13] He signed a reserve/futures contract on January 9, 2023.[14] On March 10, Carter was waived.[15]

Birmingham Stallions

Carter signed with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL on March 20, 2023.[16] He was released on March 10, 2024.[17] He was re-signed on May 7, 2024.[18]

References

  1. [1]
    "T.J. Carter Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  2. [2]
    "T.J. Carter". TCU Horned Frogs. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  3. [3]
    Murphy, Michael (September 24, 2016). "Carter All Over The Field In Win". The Tennessean. p. C5. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. [4]
    Murphy, Michael (August 11, 2016). "Transfer To Stratford Gives Carter 2nd Chance". The Tennessean. p. C2. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. [5]
    Murphy, Michael (September 2, 2016). "Stratford's T.J. Carter commits to Memphis". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  6. [6]
    Schad, Tom (August 23, 2017). "Carter In Line To Start First College Game". The Tennessean. p. C3. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. [7]
    "TCU football adds Memphis transfer, versatile DB T.J. Carter". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 18, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  8. [8]
    Davidson, Drew (April 25, 2022). "TCU's T.J. Carter will bring versatility to NFL team". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. B1, B2. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. [9]
    Howard, Nicholas (May 2, 2022). "TCU Football: Dreams to Reality". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  10. [10]
    "Rams Re-sign Four Waived Undrafted Free Agents". Sports Illustrated. May 18, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  11. [11]
    DaSilva, Cameron (August 31, 2022). "Rams signing DBs T.J. Carter and Dan Isom to practice squad". USA Today. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  12. [12]
    Allen, Ely (December 24, 2022). "Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/22". Pro Football Rumors. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  13. [13]
    "TJ Carter". Los Angeles Rams. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  14. [14]
    @RamsNFL (January 9, 2023). "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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. [15]
    Williams, Charean. "Rams officially release Leonard Floyd, seven others". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  16. [16]
    @USFLStallions (March 20, 2023). "Free Agent Signing" (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2023 – via Twitter.
  17. [17]
    "UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58". UFLBoard.com. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  18. [18]
    "UFL Transactions". UFLBoard.com. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
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