James Edward Carpenter Jr. (born March 22, 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by 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 ...

as the 25th overall pick in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. 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 ...

High school career

Carpenter attended

Hephzibah High School Hephzibah High School is a high school located in south Richmond County in the town of Hephzibah, Georgia, United States. It is the largest high school, by attendance, in the Richmond County School System. It is located in a rural area and its st ...

Hephzibah, Georgia Hephzibah () is a city in southern Richmond County, Georgia, Richmond County, in the United States, U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is part of the Augusta metropolitan area. The population was 4,011 at the 2010 census. ''Hephzibah'' ...

, where he played offensive guard for the Hephzibah Rebels

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 ...

team. Considered a two-star recruit by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

, Carpenter was listed as the No. 193 offensive guard in the nation in 2007. Carpenter received only one offer, which was by

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. He committed to the Cyclones on February 6, 2007, but he struggled academically and was placed at

Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...

by Iowa State.

College career

Coffeyville Community College

In two seasons at Coffeyville Community College, Carpenter started every game at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

for the Red Ravens and earned All-Conference (KJCCC) honors twice. In 2008, he was named to the NJCAA All-American first-team. Rated as a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Carpenter was ranked as the No. 32 junior college prospect in 2009.

Alabama

Although he remained an Iowa State signee, he began visiting other schools "just ��to make sure I make a good decision". He made official visits to

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and Ole Miss, before eventually committing to Alabama and head coach

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 ...

. Carpenter faced the difficult task to replace All-American left tackle Andre Smith. While analysts did not expect him to dominate as a run blocker like Smith, they saw him as "a rock in pass protection". Carpenter went on to start every game at left tackle for the Crimson Tide in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. In the 2009 season, Carpenter was part of the undefeated Crimson Tide team that won the National Championship over the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Carpenter had a good post-season performance and, according to ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', went "from a third-round choice to a player who could be a surprise pick late in round one". He was selected with the 25th overall pick in the

by the

. He was the fourth tackle to be selected that year. Carpenter started nine games in his rookie season before suffering a season ending ACL injury and being placed on the injured reserve. Carpenter was limited to seven games in 2012 still recovering from an ACL injury from the previous year. In the 2013 season, Carpenter appeared in 16 games with 10 starts. Carpenter earned a

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 ...

with the Seahawks in

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

where they defeated the

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 headquart ...

43–8, giving Carpenter his first career championship title and the Seahawks their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. In the offseason, Seattle declined the fifth-year option for Carpenter. In the 2014 season, Carpenter started all 13 games he appeared in and participated in the Seahawks making it to

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

, where they lost to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

by a score of 28–24.

New York Jets

On March 10, 2015, Carpenter signed a four-year contract with the

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

worth $19.1 million. He started in all 16 games for the Jets in the 2015 season. At the start of the 2016 league year, Carpenter agreed to restructure his contract converting $3.96 million into bonuses creating $2.46 million in cap space. He started in all 16 games for the Jets in the 2016 season. In addition, he had a fumble recovery. In the 2017 season, Carpenter started in all 16 games and had two fumble recoveries on the season. In 2018, Carpenter started 10 games at left guard while dealing with a shoulder injury in Week 7. He aggravated the injury prior to Week 12 and was ultimately placed on injured reserve on November 28, 2018.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 13, 2019, Carpenter signed a four-year, $21 million contract with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He was named the Falcons starting left guard to begin the season. He started 11 games there before being placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2019, with a concussion. The Falcons released Carpenter on March 9, 2021.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 19, 2021, Carpenter was signed to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

practice squad. He was released on November 20, 2021.

New Orleans Saints

On December 8, 2021, Carpenter was signed to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

*
Atlanta Falcons bio

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, James 1989 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Atlanta Falcons players Baltimore Ravens players Coffeyville Red Ravens football players New Orleans Saints players New York Jets players Players of American football from Augusta, Georgia Seattle Seahawks players Ed Block Courage Award recipients