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Link2001 — DE Kevin CarterCarter spent six seasons with the Rams from 1995-2000. But his best season came in 1999 when he tallied a career-high 17.0 sacks — becoming the first defensive end to represent the franchise in a Pro Bowl since Jack Youngblood in 1979. He was also an AP All-Pro selection and finished out the year as a Super Bowl XXXIV Champion.
Following his standout season, Carter played under the franchise tag during his final year with the Rams in 2001.
Correct. But he was tagged in 2001...
Rams will agree to deal DE Carter to Titans for first-round pick
March 28, 2001
By Len Pasquarelli
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
PALM DESERT, Calif.-- Barring a last-minute change of heart, the St. Louis Rams will agree in principle on Wednesday to trade defensive end and former NFL sack leader Kevin Carter to the Tennessee Titans for a first-round draft pick, sources said here late Tuesday night.
The teams began discussing the megadeal even before club officials arrived here Sunday for the annual league meetings. Those talks continued every day here, with the teams swapping various proposals. But on Tuesday night St. Louis management decided to drop its demand for additional draft picks and that concession, of which Titans officials will be apprised Wednesday morning, will lead to the trade being consummated in the next few days.
Sources said that agent Harold Lewis already has agreed in principle to a contract that should be cap-friendly to the Titans for at least two years. Technically, Carter must sign the contract with the Rams, and he will then be immediately dealt to the Titans for the 29th overall selection in the April 21-22 draft.
The Rams already have their own first-round pick, the 20th overall, and will use the selections to help rebuild a defense that statistically ranked 23rd in the league last season. St. Louis can either exercise the choices or perhaps parlay the picks to attempt to move up higher in the first round. There remains a chance the Rams might still deal backup quarterback Trent Green, most likely to Kansas City, for a third No. 1 choice this year.
Carter, 27, was designated a "franchise" free agent by the Rams last month. Carter last season rejected an extension from the Rams that would have paid a signing bonus of $13 million and averaged close to $7 million per year.
By dealing him, the Rams will regain the $5.39 million qualifying tender for a "franchise" defensive end. That will permit St. Louis to pursue more veteran free agents for a unit that could have eight new starters in 2001. St. Louis also will regain its "franchise" designation for use in the future on potential free agents.
To have simply signed Carter outright without the trade agreement, the Titans would have had to compensate the Rams with a pair of first-round draft choice, an exorbitant price on top of the financial outlay Tennessee would have to make to get the defensive end's name on a contract.
Even though Lewis has worked out a deal that provides for a low salary cap value for Carter in 2001 and 2002, the Titans will have to clear some room under the spending limit and that could take a day or two and delay officially finalizing the trade. As of Tuesday, the Titans were snug up against the cap, with a surplus of just $66,000, according to league documents.
The Rams and Titans kicked around five proposals before St. Louis decided to merely accept the offer of Tennessee's first-round choice. The Titans had also proposed two more options. In the first, they would have sent second- and fourth-round picks in this year's draft to the Rams. The other would have netted St. Louis a second-rounder this year and a third-round pick in 2002.
St. Louis countered with proposals in which they would have accepted first- and fourth-rounders this year or a first-round pick in 2001 and a third-round choice in 2002.
During the league combine workouts last month, SportsLine.com first reported that the Titans were one of two franchises with whom Lewis was discussing a contract for Carter. The other club, the Oakland Raiders, subsequently signed free agent end Trace Armstrong and dropped out of the Carter derby.
The Titans, who lost starting left end Kenny Holmes to the New York Giants in free agency two weeks ago, were seeking a replacement to team with Jevon Kearse. In the Titans' new front four, Carter will play left end with Kearse moving to the right side where he will have greater freedom to rush the quarterback.
Carter has 62 ½ sacks in six seasons and led the league with 17 sacks in 1999. But his play and his demeanor took a turn last year after he failed to reach an agreement on the contract extension. He was demoted from the starting lineup for three games at midseason and, despite a late-year surge that allowed him to finish with 10 ½ sacks, was regarded by some Rams officials as a malcontent.
In addition, the team has hired a new defensive line coach, Bill Kollar, who emphasizes a strong work ethic and prefers blue-collar players
#HelmetHornsMatter
“Well, the color is good, I like the metallic blue,” Youngblood recently said while laughing, via NFL Journal. “The horn is terrible. It looks like a ‘C.’ When I first saw it on the logo I honestly thought it was a Charger logo.
“Now when I see it on the helmet, it just isn’t a ram horn. There is no distinct curl like a mature ram horn. I don’t know how the Rams could get that wrong. That is your symbol and it has been for what? Seventy years or more? Longer than I have been alive? It’s just not us, it’s not the Rams.”---Mr. Ram Jack Youngblood
