Former Georgia Bulldog Lorenzo Carter, who played the past four seasons with the New York Giants, agreed to terms with the Falcons on Monday.
Carter could be an upgrade for the Falcons, who ranked last in the league with 19 sacks last season. NFL Media first reported the news, and it was confirmed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Carter was taken in the third round (66th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. A former Georgia standout from Norcross High, who’s 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, Carter has played in 49 NFL games with 33 starts. He has 14.5 sacks and 153 tackles.
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
The Falcons released Dante Fowler, who led the team in sacks last season with 4.5. He signed with Dallas to reunite with former Falcons coach Dan Quinn.
“I think in that position when you go historically, and look at edge rushers that have been successful, they’ve come in all shapes and sizes,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said when asked how he evaluates edge rushers. “You’ve had the tall (and) long. You’ve had the undersized. You’ve had guys were great 40 times.”
Carter ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds at the combine and had a 39-inch vertical.
“Guys that don’t have great measurable,” Fontenot said. “They come in all shapes and sizes. And so it’s just about assessing, can that player get to the quarterback? Is he a true pressure player? Does he win? Because when you start focusing on just the measurables and you try to create something, sometimes you can get yourself in trouble. So, I would say the most important part is, is he winning those one-on-one matchups?”
Back in 2018, Carter came out of Georgia with some fanfare.
“I like Carter,” then-NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. “I think Carter is going to go on the second day of the draft. He’s got almost the same size as Leonard Floyd. His production wasn’t the same. He needs to get stronger.”
Carter was the ninth-rated defensive end in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
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