Chris Carr (#25) , 5-10, 180, in his 7th year in the league out of Boise State, is shown here defending against the Browns’ Chansi Stuckey last December. Carr’s been working overtime lately in his role as one of the Ravens’ player reps in labor negotiations.
Listening to cornerback and law student Chris Carr last night on the radio, followed by Haruki Nakamura, another Ravens guest on the Qadry Ismail segment of WBAL’s Sports Line, I was impressed by the cohesiveness of the Ravens players during the current labor mess…and how they are still hanging tight as a crew of associates and friends in the offseason. Many Ravens players ralled to ringside for Tom Zbikowski’s four-round Showtime fight in Vegas last week…and many more are rallying to their teammate Nakamura’s cause to create a local fund-raising event to help the victims of the Japanese Disaster.
They’re also one in spirit so far in maintaining belief in the players position on the labor front. Chris Carr and fellow DB Domonique Foxworth have been doing most of the legwork on that front as player reps. Carr mentioned on the radio show last night how frustrating it has been to participate on the inside of meetings with owner groups during the D.C. mediations. “Too many people in the room at the table”, was Carr’s concensus opinion of why not much seemed to get done until the very end. “You’d work for hours to get a point or agree to the next bargaining point…but then 32 owners’ reps would have to leave the room to make phone calls to the home office for consultation or agreement…and we’d have to wait around hours for them to come back to the meetings.”
Doesn’t sound like much fun at all. I’d prefer more of a one-on-one style of negotiation. Sounds like Carr was saying the same thing.
Speaking of Carr, he’s had a real interesting career. He seems to like it here in Baltimore, and concedes this group of players is the most cohesive crew he’s ever been with…Born in Reno, Nevada, he played both football and basketball at Robert McQueen High School in Reno. He also played for the Reno Steelers Pop Warner team. He played defensive back and was an All-State running back as a sophomore, junior and senior. He was also named Northern Nevada Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year his senior year, where he rushed for 1,944 yards on 206 carries and scored 34 touchdowns.
He played all 4 years at Boise State U., where he starred at defensive back and also returned kicks and punts. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders in 2005 as an undrafted free agent. Carr’s main contribution to the Raiders was as a kickoff and punt returner on special teams. He played in all 16 games in the 2005 NFL season for the Raiders, and had seven tackles, two assists and two pass deflections. He returned 73 kicks and 32 punts with very decent results.
His first touchdown came while playing as a cornerback, when he intercepted a pass by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown on October 29, 2006 at McAfee Coliseum. It was the second longest interception for a touchdown in Raiders history and helped seal an upset win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
In 2006 he became the Raiders all-time leader in kickoff returns with a total of 142 returns for 3,514 yards.
Carr became a restricted free agent in the 2008 offseason. On March 29, the Tennessee Titans signed Carr to a two-year, $2 million offer sheet. On April 5, the Raiders declined to match the offer, and after seven days, Carr became a member of the Titans.
Carr signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens on March 18, 2009. In the 2009 season, Carr started off as primarily a returner, but injuries to Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb made him a more prominent part of the defense. He finished the year strongly in his new role, recording career highs with 44 tackles and 2 interceptions. The year was capped off with an interception of Tom Brady in the playoffs when facing the New England Patriots. At the start of training camp in 2010, Domonique Foxworth suffered a tear to his ACL. With Washington and Webb still recovering from ACL tears of their own, Carr was upgraded to a starter in drills. He began the season as a starter opposite the returning Washington. Through the rest of the season, Carr was used much less as a returner and much more in the Ravens secondary, having his best defensive year ever in the NFL.
Look for Carr to show up with Ray Lewis, Ray Rice and the rest of the gang at a local fundraiser on or about April 2 where fans can make donations and get autographs to directly benefit the Red Cross relief efforts for the victims in Japan. Haruki Nakamura will be releasing the details on that event, and we will publicize the event here at the Machine.
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