Defensive end Kevin Carter produced a long NFL career that lasted 14 seasons and served as a key figure for the St. Louis Rams’ Super Bowl XXXIV winning team in 1999.
Before being drafted by the Rams, Carter helped lead Florida Gators to the SEC championship in 1994. His 11.5 sacks that season earned him unanimous All-American honors, first team SEC Honors, and was a finalist for the Lombardi award. His success at Florida made him a high first round draft prospect after the season.
Drafted 6th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft, Carter quickly established himself as an NFL starting defensive end. In his rookie season, he recorded six sacks and 33 tackles, including his first career sack on Brett Favre in Week 1. His 50 tackles and two forced fumbles led to his selection as Rams Rookie of the Year.
Carter produced his best season in 1999, when the Rams put everything together to win Super Bowl XXXIV. He recorded a career-high 17 sacks, including 7.5 sacks in the month of November alone. Carter was a key factor the Rams’ rush defense that allowed only 74.3 yards per game (best in the NFL). His career year earned him his first Pro Bowl selection – the first Rams defensive player to do so since Jack Youngblood.
Prior to the 2001 NFL draft, Carter was traded to the Tennessee Titans for a first round draft pick. After spending a few seasons with Tennessee, Carter played for the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring in 2008. Over the span of 14 seasons playing for the Rams, Titans, Dolphins, and Buccaneers, he recorded 104.5 sacks good for 26th all-time.
Sources: Larry Guest, Orlando Sentinel, Pro-football-reference.com, Associated Press, Kevin-Carter.com
| Career | Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Defensive | Interceptions | Fumbles | Sacks | Tackles | |||||||||||||||
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | NO. | G | GS | INT | YDS | TD | LNG | PD | FF | FMB | FR | YDS | TD | SCK | TKL | AST | SFTY |
| 1995 | 22 | STL | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 33 | 4 | 1 |
| 1996 | 23 | STL | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 | 39 | 16 | 0 |
| 1997 | 24 | STL | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7.5 | 32 | 10 | 0 |
| 1998 | 25 | STL | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 49 | 11 | 0 |
| 1999 | 26 | STL | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 30 | 4 | 0 |
| 2000 | 27 | STL | DE | 93 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | 31 | 4 | 0 |
| 2001 | 28 | TEN | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 8 | 0 |
| 2002 | 29 | TEN | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 31 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | 30 | TEN | DL | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 | 29 | 19 | 0 |
| 2004 | 31 | TEN | DL | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 23 | 0 |
| 2005 | 32 | MIA | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 18 | 1 |
| 2006 | 33 | MIA | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 | 28 | 17 | 0 |
| 2007 | 34 | TB | DE | 93 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 11 | 0 |
| 2008 | 35 | TB | DE | 93 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 21 | 0 |
| Career | 224 | 219 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 18 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 104.5 | 446 | 181 | 2 |
