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Last season was a season from hell for Jets nickel back Michael Carter.
Well, actually, it started pretty well. Right before the season, on September 3, the Jets gave Carter a three–year, $30.75 million extension, with $13.6 million, making him the highest-paid slot corner at the time.
But this was after he missed most of training camp with a high ankle sprain, which lingered into the season.
A high ankle sprain is a bad injury for any player, but it has to be particularly brutal for a slot corner.
You are often facing super-quick slot receivers, who, since they are lining up on the inside, can easily cut either way, to your left or right, and cutting on a high sprain is hard.
With a high ankle sprain, you can usually run okay on a straight line, but cutting on it can be excruciating.
You could tell early in the season, he was not himself in terms of his mobility on the field.
And to make matters worse, he hurt his back in a Week 5 contest against Minnesota. leading him to be inactive in the next two games.
He was also inactive for two games late in the season.
Imagine trying to play football with a high ankle sprain and a bad back, and Carter did that for eight games following the injury against Minnesota.
“It was super tough,” Carter said recently.
Nickel back is one of the most physically challenging positions in football because not only do you need to cover quick slot receivers, but since you are lined up inside, you end up with a lot of run responsibilities, and the position looks almost resembles a linebacker spot on some of these running plays.
And keep in mind, Carter is only 5-10, 184 pounds.
It’s almost like all the wear-and-tear from his first three seasons of doing this physically challenging job caught up to him a little last year. In the first three years, he was fairly durable, missing just four games.
Carter is a great teammate and tried to be out there as much as he could, perhaps with some painkillers, but when he did play, which he did 13 games last year, you could tell he was never 100 percent.
“You know, we all knew it was at stake, you know, for everybody who was here last year,” Carter said. “And so, you know, I definitely wanted to make sure I did everything I could to, you know, kind of just do what I could for them. And ultimately, you know, things didn’t work out.”
Carter had no picks and just one pass defensed in 13 games, clearly below his usual standards.
It took him a couple of months after the season to truly get back to 100 percent.
“I was getting like treatments, rest, rehabbing like 3-4 times a week for, you know, 6-7 weeks and doing that and then you know, that that paid dividends. So I feel really good now,” Carter said.
Carter added: “I’m in a lot better place now.”
And the Jets are in a much better place when this guy is healthy. They missed him last year, not just in the four games he couldn’t suit up, but also when he was out there at like 50 percent.
The cerebral Duke graduate rarely blows assignments and helps get everyone else lined up.
You could tell in the spring, with some of the plays he made in the practices open to the media, he’s back to his old self.
June 20, 2025
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