Sidelined for nearly a year since seeing his most promising NFL season end early with a torn ACL and MCL, Derek Carrier is set to rejoin the Redskins’ 53-man roster. The fifth-year tight end and 2015 trade acquisition will be activated from the PUP list in advance of Sunday’s Redskins-Vikings game, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.
Carrier will fill Niles Paul‘s place as Washington’s third tight end behind Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis. He’s been on the PUP since the team pared its roster to 75 players in August.
This continues the fluidity of the Redskins’ tight end corps behind Reed over the past two seasons, with recently re-signed Paul and Logan Paulsen no longer part of the equation. Reed has already missed time this season with the latest in a string of concussions, so Washington’s tight end depth has been tested this fall.
Traded from the 49ers after Paul and Paulsen went down last summer, Carrier started 11 games and played in 12 for the Redskins in 2015. The former UDFA caught 17 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown before tearing up his knee in early December. The 26-year-old Carrier has been running sprints with the team recently but hasn’t incorporated contact into his recovery routine yet.
Carrier has one season left on his rookie contract, being set to see his salary climb to just over $1MM next season. The former Division III performer played in just five games during his first two years in the league, delaying his service-time clock.