The Browns have added a veteran return specialist to their roster. Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports that the team has signed DeAndre Carter.
It’s a one-year deal for the seven-year veteran. Carter will get nearly $800K in guaranteed money to join Cleveland’s special teams unit.
Carter ranks second among active players in career kick/punt return yards (4,577, behind Cordarrelle Patterson‘s 8,238 yards). The veteran has returned at least 15 punts and 10 kickoffs in each of the past four seasons. This includes a 2024 campaign that he spent in Chicago, where he returned 17 punts for 158 yards and 15 kickoffs for 479 yards.
Carter has also received some looks on offense throughout his career, hauling in 117 receptions. His best season came with the Chargers in 2022, when he finished with 46 catches for 538 yards and three touchdowns. He hauled in nine catches for the Bears in 2024.
The Browns averaged 24.8 yards on their kickoffs in 2024, the third-worst mark in the NFL. The Browns mostly leaned on their RBs (including Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong, and D’Onta Foreman) for the role last season, and there’s a good chance Carter will slide atop the depth chart in 2025.
Good move by Cleveland.
Field position is essential when your quarterback play isn’t great.
So is a strong run game but that’s a whole other topic.
I’d say he can’t be any worse than he was with the Bears last year but I’ve been wrong before.