Canadian running back Kerry Carter was hoping to make a good impression against the Bengals in the Redskins preseason game, instead he suffered a season-ending injury.
In Washington’s first preseason game on Sunday, Carter’s knee gave out when he was making a cut in the backfield. A no contact injury. He went down and immediately tore off his helmet. That’s often a sign that the injury might not be a garden variety one.
Surgery Required
Carter underwent surgery to repair multiple ligament tears in his knee on Monday. It has been reported that Carter tore both his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and his medial collateral ligament (MCL),. That will definitely spell the end of Carter’s 2006 season with the Redskins.
The young man who was born in Trinidad and Tobago but grew up in Toronto was having a good training camp. Special teams were where Carter was expected to have an opportunity with the Redskins, but he put in solid work with the offense at Redskin Park. So solid in fact, that the Redskins were giving him a long look at running back when the injury occurred.
Byner on Carter
Running backs coach Earnest Byner praised him last week.
“He’s probably one of my better students and he translates what he learns to the field quickly. Then you have his physical nature, his size, his athletic ability. He’s quicker and faster than what you think. Kerry has the tools to contribute to an NFL team.”
Unfortunately, it won’t be this year.
Carter was trying to catch on with the Redskins after missing most of the 2005 season. He was a special teams regular in Seattle for two years . While hardly a household name south of the Canadian border, he’s a name familiar to many Canadian NFL fans.
Carter is a bright young man with a lot going for him; something that should make putting this injury into perspective a little easier for him.
Settlement
The Redskins reached injury settlements with Carter, with linebacker Chris Clemons and with defensive back Ben Emanuel. Thal allowed them to waive them and make room for some new signings.
Clemons’ release may be a surprise to some Redskin fans as it was reported that his injury would have kept him out just four to six weeks. The Redskins staff haven’t been that impressed with his progress at training camp. They opted to waive him rather than waiting to see what happens with the injury.
The New Signings:
Jeff Posey – linebacker – spent the last three seasons as the strong side linebacker in Buffalo and has 76 career starts (123 games played). The Bills tried moving him to weakside this year and apparently it didn’t work out as he was released last week. He re-joins the defensive co-ordinator who coached him in Buffalo, Jerry Gray (Redskins cornerback coach).
Spencer Folau – offensive line – did not play in 2005 after being waived by the New Orleans Saints. He is an eight-year NFL veteran who has appeared in 91 career NFL games (43 starts) for Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans.
A.J. Harris – running back – undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois. Harris worked out for the Redskins at their rookie camp in the offseason and obviously impressed them enough to get the call Tuesday when a running back was needed.
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database. It was originally posted by Mark Solway and edited in August 2026 for modern SEO standards.