Lorenzo Lemuel Carter (born December 10, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the Atlanta Falcons of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

Early years

Carter attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also t ...

. He was named to the ''USA Today'' All-USA High School Football Team after his senior year in 2013. A 4-star

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

recruit, Carter committed to

to play college football over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, and Notre Dame, among many others.

College career

Carter attended and played college football at Georgia under head coaches

Mark Richt Mark Allan Richt (born February 18, 1960) is a retired American football head coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, ...

and

Kirby Smart Kirby Paul Smart (born December 23, 1975) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, his alma mater. He coached the 2021 Bulldogs to a national championship victory, their f ...

. As a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

at Georgia, Carter played 13 games making 5 starts, and received the University of Georgia newcomer of the year award. After the 2016 season, Carter announced that he would return to school for his senior season, despite speculation that he might declare for the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

. Carter played in 54 games with 26 starts in his career at Georgia, recording 166 total tackles, 14 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, and one defensive touchdown. He was named Second Team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

as a senior in 2017.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Carter attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

and completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the bench press, short shuttle, and three-cone drill. Carter was a top performer among all of the edge rushers, finishing first in the broad jump, second in the 40-yard dash, and third among his position group in the vertical jump. On March 21, 2018, Carter participated at Georgia's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. He attended pre-draft visits and private workouts with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Carter was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best outside linebacker by DraftScout.com and was ranked the fifth best defensive end by Scouts Inc.

New York Giants

The New York Giants selected Carter in the third round (66th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Carter was the eighth linebacker drafted in 2018. On May 10, 2018, the Giants signed Carter to a four-year, $4.08 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $1.04 million. In Week 3, against the Houston Texans, Carter recorded his first professional sack. Lorenzo Carter 2019 (cropped)

In week 6 of the 2019 season against the New England Patriots, Carter forced a fumble on

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

which was recovered by teammate

Markus Golden Markus Golden (born March 13, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the ...

who returned it for a touchdown in the 35–14 loss. He finished the season second on the team with 4.5 sacks. Carter entered the 2020 season as one of the Giants starting pass rushers. In Week 5, he suffered a ruptured Achilles and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on October 19. On Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

Carter got his first career interception from

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...

Atlanta Falcons

Carter signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons on March 22, 2022, worth up to $3.5 million with $2 million guaranteed. In Week 2, against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, Falcons linebacker Troy Andersen blocked a punt, allowing Carter to pick up the loose ball and run it back to the endzone for a special teams touchdown in the 31–27 loss. In Week 8, against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, Carter recorded a pick-six off Panthers quarterback

P. J. Walker Phillip "P. J." Walker (born February 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indian ...

in the 37–34 win. Overall, Carter started all 17 games for the Falcons in the 2022 season, recording 58 total tackles, 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and a defensive touchdown. On March 7, 2023, Carter re-signed with the Falcons on a two-year contract worth up to $9 million, with $5.25 million guaranteed. https://thefalconswire.usatoday.com/2023/03/09/falcons-lorenzo-carter-contract-details/ He played in all 17 games with one start during the 2023 season and recorded 35 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, a career high 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 pass deflection.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
at Sports Reference {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Lorenzo 1995 births Living people People from Norcross, Georgia Players of American football from Gwinnett County, Georgia Norcross High School alumni Georgia Bulldogs football players New York Giants players American football linebackers 21st-century African-American sportspeople Atlanta Falcons players