Veteran linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr., formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, has signed to the Cleveland Browns’ 53-player roster, according to the NFL’s transaction wire on December 14.
Carter, 27, signed a one-year, $1.7 million deal with the Chiefs on March 25. At that point, Carter was projected to compete for a starting role on the Chiefs’ defense, as the team hadn’t yet drafted Leo Chenal.
Despite being a 17-game starter with the Carolina Panthers in 2021, Carter struggled during training camp and the preseason, which led to his release from the Chiefs on August 30. It wasn’t until September 27 that Carter landed with the Browns via their practice squad, according to Pro Football Reference.
Cleveland has elevated Carter to the gameday roster three times this season which is the maximum amount allowed for one practice squad player. So, the Browns had to officially sign Carter to the active roster per league rules.
During the three games he’s been active for this season, Carter has played a total of 55 snaps, all of which were on special teams.
Patrick Mahomes Talks Travis Kelce Milestones
During Kansas City’s 34-28 win over the Denver Broncos, tight end Travis Kelce became the 5th tight end in NFL history to record 10,000 career receiving yards and is the fastest one to do it. He also cracked 1,000 receiving yards on the season during the victory, which extended his own streak of now 7 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards.
Congratulations, Travis! #ProBowlVote
Speaking to the media on December 14, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked about the milestones Kelce racked up in the divisional win at Mile High Stadium.
“It talks to his consistency. Obviously, he’s a great player and we know that, and he’s had this great run but if you look at his career, he’s just been consistently great every single year,” Mahomes explained. “That tight end position is hard. You take a beating – you’re blocking, you’re catching over the middle (and) taking hits. He just prepares himself the right way (so) that he can be out there and available for us every week. Truly great player and a great teammate for sure.”
When asked if he thinks Kelce cares a lot about individual accolades, Mahomes talked up his teammate.
“If they do, he doesn’t even make it look like it,” Mahomes said. “I sit beside him on the plane, and I said something to him about it (and) he was like, ‘Oh yeah, man. It’s cool.’ All he’s worried about is winning. That’s what all the great players are worried about and the stats kind of come but at the same time he’s just trying to win a lot of football games.”
Kelce Talks Team When Asked About Milestones
Travis Kelce’s response when asked about his career milestones after the Week 14 victory aligns with what Mahomes said of Kelce.
“Honestly, right now the win means more than any of those stats,” Kelce said during his postgame press conference. “Everybody’s kind of been talking about me getting those stats at some point this year so it was on everybody’s radar but to come up here and get a win and be a part of the crowd that is the 10,000 crew: [Antonio] Gates, [Jason] Witten, [Tony] Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, Broncos, the main guy who I was chasing today. Obviously, all those guys are unbelievable company and [I am] very fortunate that I’ve had the coaches and the players around me to be able to have this much success in the NFL as I have.”
Former Chiefs Camp Bust Gets Promotion With AFC Squad