Carter corners market on performing double duty
Duron Carter might be one of the few players in the Canadian Football League with the bombast to suggest he could play cornerback. But he’s also talented enough to actually make it work. And that’s all that matters. It has been more than 40 years since Hamilton’s Garney Henley went both ways in a regular-season game, the former Tiger-Cat playing both receiver and defensive back in 1975. Carter did better than that, named one of the league’s three outstanding players one week as a receiver, the next, for his play on defence.
He’s likely to remain on defence Friday night, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders entertain the Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium (9:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio-690), although he’s listed as a wide-receiver on the team’s depth chart for the game. Either way, or both ways, he’ll probably make a contribution before the final gun has sounded.
“I can definitely guard anybody. I play the position. I know what’s coming. I know what guys are trying to do,” Carter said. “They trust me with all the calls … on blitzes. My role just keeps on growing.
“You always have to be confident in your ability,” added the 26-yearold Florida native, the son of legendary NFL receiver Cris Carter. “I always think I’m the best football player going out there, regardless of where I’m at. I just believe I’m the best player. The ball goes up in the air, there’s not anybody out there that can stop me.”
Carter remains the Riders’ leading receiver, with 1,037 yards and a team-tying eight touchdowns. He has caught 72 passes. On Oct. 13, during a one-point loss at home against Ottawa, he caught 11 balls for a career-high 231 yards and was named one of the league’s players of the week.
Then the Riders suffered a number of injuries in their secondary, prompting Saskatchewan general manager and head coach Chris Jones to move Carter to defence — mere days after he reportedly got into a practice fight with defender Sam Williams. Carter has been taking defensive practice reps throughout the year, advising Jones he could play there.
“He’s very instinctual and, quite honestly, I’m not sure he’s not a better corner than he is a receiver,” Jones told reporters last week.
At Calgary last Friday, Carter returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown and was again named one of the league’s players of the week. The interception was easy, Bo Levi Mitchell throwing it directly to Carter. But then he outmanoeuvred numerous offensive players en route to the end zone. He also had two tackles playing on the boundary — the hot position on defence — while being utilized on corner blitzes quite frequently. One of his tackles came against Stampeders 255-pound tailback Jerome Messam.
“He can be a very good corner,” Jones said this week. “This is a good chance for Duron to create an identity for himself separate from anything his dad ever did.”
Carter, of course, spent three sometimes tumultuous seasons with Montreal, wrapped around a year with the Indianapolis Colts. There was no denying his talent, but there were occasions where he arguably put himself above the team. He was suspended one game in 2016 for bumping Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell, then got into shouting matches with former Als quarterback Rakeem Cato.
Carter and receiver Kenny Stafford were released last October by Jacques Chapdelaine, not long after he was named interim head coach. It was Chapdelaine’s way of putting his stamp on the team.
But Chapdelaine was fired a month ago, leaving the Als, yet again, with nothing to show for their impulsive personnel decisions.
Carter, meanwhile, might never change his behaviour and won’t apologize for the baggage he brings.
“I’m just going to be me,” he said. “If me and football don’t correlate, so be it. I can only be myself. If they run out of teams to go to, I guess I’d have to try and find something else.”
The Riders (9-7) have clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2014, although as things currently stand, would be the crossover team, travelling to either Toronto or Ottawa for the opening round. Saskatchewan’s final two games are at home, including one against Edmonton, the team it’s trying to catch for third place in the West Division, next week.
The Als (3-13) have lost a franchise-tying nine consecutive games. The contest marks the return to Regina of Montreal quarterback Darian Durant, who spent 11 seasons with the Riders.
“We’re not in any position to take any team for granted,” Jones said. “Montreal has a lot of veterans who are certainly proud of where they’ve been, what they’ve done. I fully expect them to play hard.
“I can tell you this — those tears I saw on TV with John Bowman the other night when they got knocked out (of playoff contention), they weren’t fake.”
One significant lineup change will see kicker Taylor Russolino make his Als debut for Boris Bede, who has a hip injury and won’t play again this season. Non-import Daryl Townsend, who plays mostly on special teams, suffered a broken ankle in practice this week and underwent surgery on Wednesday.
“You’ve prepared your bodies and minds to complete a season. This season isn’t complete until we finish these two games. True professionals are going to play as if these are their championship games, every week. The last two weeks,” said Montreal GM and interim head coach Kavis Reed.