| Two more days. That’s all that Cris Carter
has left in his NFL career. At least that appears to be the case. Carter, as you well
know, is a free agent. After voiding his contract in Minnesota, he was able to hit the
open market. But teams haven’t exactly been beating down the door to sign him.
Now, with training camp about two months away, Carter has imposed a deadline for his
signing. He says that if a deal isn’t done by Monday, that’s it. The jig is up.
The playing career is over. He will retire from the NFL and take a job in the television
industry.
Hip-hip hooray! Good riddance. Get that egomaniac off the field, please.
Carter is clearly one the most productive wide receivers ever to play the game. He is
obviously a great talent. But he is also a phony.
This is a guy who has tried to cultivate a good-guy image after overcoming a rocky
start to his playing career. He was hardly a choir boy back in Philadelphia, and he should
be commended for overcoming some personal problems and living up to his potential.
But don’t be fooled. This is a guy who is looking out for numero uno. He may claim
it’s all about the team, but I don’t buy it. Cris Carter is a selfish player.
And in this sport — the ultimate team game — there is no room for selfishness.
Do you need evidence of Carter’s selfishness? Just pop in a tape of almost any
game from last season, or even the year before. At some point, you are sure to see Carter
whining at Daunte Culpepper. Or maybe Carter is urging a coach to get him more involved.
Or perhaps he’s having words with Randy Moss. It doesn’t matter who is being
verbally assaulted by Carter. The fact that he is doing it is evidence enough.
Apparently, some of Carter’s past is catching up to him. More than one team has
written him off. There are players in Green Bay, a team that Carter initially expressed
interest in joining, who said he wouldn’t be welcome there. Then you have the
situation in St. Louis. Carter was slated to meet with head coach Mike Martz and several
players, but he opted instead to remain in Cleveland and negotiate further with the
Browns. When the Rams heard of that, they canceled their visit with Carter.
If Carter was going to start screwing around even before he signed a deal, what kind of
disruptions would he cause after he had joined the team? That’s what the Rams were
thinking when they opted to end discussions with Carter.
It appears that the only team that is still seriously interested in Carter is the
Dolphins. But Carter and the Dolphins aren’t in the same neighborhood when it comes
to financial compensation. Carter says he desperately wants to play another season,
provided it’s for a playoff contender.
But apparently Carter has another proviso. He wants to be handsomely rewarded to suit
up. But the Dolphins — bless their hearts — are offering just $750,000, the
NFL veteran minimum. That is not enough for Carter. His ego won’t allow him to play
for the veteran minimum.
There are also rumors that the Buccaneers would be interested in obtaining Carter. But
they aren’t in great salary-cap shape and probably couldn’t offer much more than
the Dolphins.
So, unless something drastically changes over the weekend, the NFL ought to be Cris
Carter-free this coming season. And that is a good thing. |
