Once Promising Vikings Defender Poached By Raiders
The Minnesota Vikings left the 2023 draft with wideout Jordan Addison, who was supposed to be Justin Jefferson’s new wingman. And that’s precisely what he has become. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah acquired Mekhi Blackmon in the third round, who is missing the 2024 campaign with a torn ACL after a promising rookie season.
Once Promising Vikings Defender Poached By Raiders
Besides those two, the draft featured special teamer Jay Ward, who got some defensive snaps against the Bears when the Vikings subbed out the starters. Jaquelin Roy, DeWayne McBride, and Jaren Hall didn’t survive the roster cuts in August.
But there’s one more aspect: the undrafted rookies. Ivan Pace Jr., of course, headlined the group, and he has been a star in Brian Flores’ defense. When the names of the UDFA class were released, he and Army outside linebacker Andre Carter II were viewed as potential steals.
Twenty months later, Carter moves on, signing with the Las Vegas Raiders. He had spent the previous months on Minnesota’s practice squad.
Ian Rapoport tweeted on Wednesday morning, “The Raiders are signing LB Andre Carter II to their 53-man roster off the Vikings practice squad, source said. The Army product helps Las Vegas off the edge after losing Maxx Crosby for the rest of the season.”
Carter appeared in 12 games in the 2023 season, playing 68 defensive snaps and 142 on special teams. He secured two tackles.
Coming into the 2024 offseason, he was one of only two edge defenders on the roster (Pat Jones). The Vikings revamped the group, signing Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel as the starters and adding Dallas Turner as an exciting prospect. Jihad Ward is more of an inside defender, but he is listed as an outside linebacker, too.
In addition to that, UDFA Bo Richter joined the club, and he usurped Carter during the preseason and in training camp. Suddenly, Carter faced long odds to make the 53-man roster, and he eventually was cut and re-signed to the practice squad.
He has not played in a game in his sophomore season, but the Raiders just lost pass rushers Maxx Crosby (season-ending surgery) and Janarius Robinson (suspension), who the Vikings selected in the 2021 draft.
Last year, most pundits viewed Carter as a mid-round draft pick; some even thought he could sneak into the first two rounds. A horrendous Senior Bowl and subpar pre-draft measurements dropped him into the undrafted free-agency pool.
The defender had a productive 2021 season at Army, registering 16.5 sacks and 47 tackles. His numbers dropped (41 tackles and 3.5 sacks) in 2022 as offenses started to focus more on him.
He has intriguing length but has always seemed to lack some power and pass-rush moves. Carter now has three games to audition for another contract with the Raiders.
Carter is 24 years old.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt