Former NY Jets RB Michael Carter makes first post-cut comments

On his first day of media availability with the Cardinals, former New York Jets running back Michael Carter commented on his departure

Michael Carter has finally spoken about his departure from New York.

On Thursday, the running back, now a member of the Arizona Cardinals, gave his first comments since being released from the New York Jets.

Carter said that he is “grateful” to be in Arizona and spoke about getting another opportunity.

“To have a chance at a fresh start and feel appreciated. I think we all chase that and crave that,” said Carter.

Regarding the Jets, Carter alluded to there being more than meets the eye surrounding his release.

“There is a lot that went on behind the scenes that led me to not be surprised,” Carter said. “Those are my brothers back in New York, and they know that. What is understood doesn’t need to be explained, and they got my number.” Carter also declined to comment when asked if he asked to be released.

Although Carter may be bitter about his release, the Jets seemed to be heading in this direction anyway. Robert Saleh stated as much at his Wednesday press conference.

“It came down, one, just want to give Izzy (Israel Abanikanda) an opportunity. He’s a good young back, and we felt like it wouldn’t be fair for Michael to just sit there and rot on the bench and ask him to be a great teammate and all that stuff,” said Saleh.

“He’s been so good to us, we felt like for him just to get an opportunity to go play for a team that would allow him to tote the rock and kind of be the feature back that we all think he could be. But part of it is him being a victim of being part of a running back room that’s got three good football players.”

Since a standout rookie season, Carter has never been the same player for the Jets over the past two years. He lacked the same explosiveness and shiftiness in the ground game and impact in the passing game.

Furthermore, he repeatedly showed public frustration. When the Jets added any other running backs, such as Breece Hall in 2022 or Abanikanda in 2023, Carter had cryptic social media posts or revealed his mindset in press conferences.

The UNC product also got into a screaming match with the Jets’ running backs coach earlier in the year, showing a different level of frustration from the running back.

Carter was not always used properly in his Jets’ tenure, specifically this season when he was primarily used as a third-down back. But he did next to nothing with the opportunities he was given.

The situation was not perfect, but Carter was a much bigger problem than a solution on the field for New York. His release is a win for both sides, allowing Carter to have a fresh start while giving the Jets a chance to jumpstart their struggling offense. 

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