Carson Tinker (born November 15, 1989) 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 with ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

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 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 ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, where was a member of their 2009 National Championship team and played as the starting long snapper for both the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and 2012 national championship teams. He was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

College career

After he was

redshirted 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 ...

for the 2008 season, Tinker saw his first action in Alabama's game against

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

during the 2009 season. For the 2010 season, Tinker was elevated as the starting long snapper for the Crimson Tide and converted 121 of 123 snapping opportunities during the season. For the 2011 season, Tinker converted all 119 snapping opportunities en route to the 2011 national championship. Tinker was selected by his teammates to accept the 2011

Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award is presented annually to college football's most inspirational individual or team. The award is one of 21 that are part of the National College Football Awards Association The National College Football Aw ...

on December 8, 2011, on behalf of the entire team in recognition for their collective efforts in the rebuilding of Tuscaloosa after the tornado. For his first four years with the Crimson Tide, Tinker played as a member of the team as a walk-on. Prior to the start of his senior season, Tinker was awarded a full

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

for the year by

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

in recognition of his accomplishments on and off the field. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Tinker again served as the starting long snapper and converted 133 of 135 snapping opportunities during the season.

Professional career

At the end of his senior season at Alabama, Tinker was ranked as the top available long snapper for the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

After going undrafted in the

, Tinker signed with the

. In training camp, he competed for the starting long snapper position with veteran

Jeremy Cain Jeremy Robert Cain (born March 24, 1980) is a former American football long snapper. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at UMass Minutemen#Football, Massachusetts. Cain was also a me ...

and rookie Luke Ingram. On August 25, Tinker won the starting job after Cain and Ingram were released. On August 3, 2017 during training, camp, Tinker suffered a torn ACL and was placed on injured reserve. On October 11, 2018, Tinker was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed knee injury. On March 8, 2019, the Jaguars released Tinker due to salary cap space issues.

New York Giants

After sitting out the

2019 NFL season The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which Green Bay defeated Chicago. The season concluded w ...

, Tinker was signed by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

on September 2, 2020. He was released on September 5, 2020 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. He was released on August 24, 2021.

Tampa Bay Buccanners

On September 13, 2021, Tinker was signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He was released on November 23.

Las Vegas Raiders

On December 1, 2021, Tinker was signed by the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

. He was released on December 9 after Trent Sieg returned to the active roster from the Reserve/COVID list.

Los Angeles Rams

On December 18, 2021, Tinker was signed to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

practice squad. Tinker won his first

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

when the Rams defeated 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 ...

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

Seattle Seahawks

On September 8, 2022, Tinker signed with the practice squad of the

. He was signed to the active roster six days later.

Personal life

Tinker was born on November 15, 1989, in

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

. On April 27, 2011, Tinker suffered a personal tragedy when his girlfriend Ashley Harrison was killed during the 2011 Tuscaloosa – Birmingham tornado. In recognition for his efforts in helping the Tuscaloosa community rebuild in the aftermath of the tornado, Tinker was named as a finalist for the 2011

Sportsman of the Year Since its inception in 1954, ''Sports Illustrated'' has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Amer ...

. On May 1, 2014, Tinker published his first book, ''A Season to Remember: Faith in the Midst of the Storm'' (B&H Publishing Group, Nashville TN), which details his experience in the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado as well as the 2011–12 University of Alabama football championship season. He has also been focused on promoting his foundation, The Be A Blessing Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)-3 charitable foundation created to help those who have suffered any kind of loss or hardship, to stop living in their circumstance and begin living in their vision.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinker, Carson 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Decatur, Alabama People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee American football long snappers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Las Vegas Raiders players Los Angeles Rams players Seattle Seahawks players