Former KC Chiefs linebacker joins Browns active roster

Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jermaine Carter is now on the active roster for the Cleveland Browns.

Earlier this spring, the Kansas City Chiefs signed linebacker Jermaine Carter in free agency to a one-year deal in an attempt to help add youth, speed, and talent to a position that had been turned over quite a bit in recent years. Surprisingly, Carter couldn’t even catch on with the Chiefs’ active roster when all was said and done, but these days, he’s still proven able to extend his professional career as he recently joined the active roster of the Cleveland Browns.

Before signing with K.C., the Chiefs had Carter in on a visit and subsequently signed him a bit later to a modest one-year deal worth $1.77 million. While that’s not a lot, it’s also quite a bit more than the league minimum, which is why fans and analysts held out decent expectations that Carter would be a solid role player for the Chiefs.

As the Chiefs added free agent Elijah Lee and drafted Leo Chenal in the third round, however, things began to look crowded for a unit that already had Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. as the core players. Darius Harris also stepped up in the face of competition to beat out Carter and make the active roster.

The Browns added Carter to their practice squad in late September as a minor free agent signing, which is where he’s been since, but he now joins the Browns roster for the stretch run.

Carter was the fifth round choice in the 2018 NFL Draft for the Carolina Panthers, a player who rose up the ranks to start 17 games last season for Matt Rhule’s team and finished with 88 tackles and 3 quarterback hits.