Tra Carson (born October 24, 1992) is a former

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 with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2016.

College career

Carson played three seasons for

(2013–15) after beginning his career at

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

(2011). He saw action in 36 games for A&M, logging 19 rushing touchdowns and 2,075

rushing yards Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

, with 4.8 average yards per carry in 2016. He also had 41 receptions for 299 yards and one touchdown for the Aggies. He rushed for 1,165 yards (4.8 average) and seven touchdowns in 2015 being the first Aggie running back to rush for 1,000 yards in the SEC, and added 29 receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown. He capped his 2014 season with 133-yard rushing performance in the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

win over

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Carson sat out the 2012 season on account the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer rules, after playing in 10 games for Oregon in 2011. He majored in recreation, parks, and tourism sciences at

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Carson was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Bengals and was signed to their practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 30, 2016. On September 2, 2017, Carson was placed on injured reserve. On September 19, 2018, Carson was waived/injured by the Bengals after suffering a hamstring injury in practice and was placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 28, 2018.

Green Bay Packers

Carson was signed to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

practice squad on October 9, 2018. On October 31, 2018, he was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad. He was placed on injured reserve on December 5, 2018, with a ribs injury. On August 31, 2019, Carson was waived by the Packers and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 5, 2019. He was waived on October 16.

Detroit Lions

On October 17, 2019, Carson was claimed off waivers by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 2, 2019, with a hamstring injury. He was released on November 8. On January 7, 2020, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions. He was released on April 27, 2020.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Tra Living people 1992 births Players of American football from Texarkana, Texas American football running backs Oregon Ducks football players Texas A&M Aggies football players Cincinnati Bengals players Green Bay Packers players Detroit Lions players