Quincy Carter

Quincy Carter

Career information
College:	Georgia
NFL draft:	2001 / Round: 2 / Pick: 53
Career history
Dallas Cowboys (2001–2003) New York Jets (2004–2005) Montreal Alouettes (2006)* Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (2007) Kansas City Brigade (2008) Abilene Ruff Riders (2009) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
SEC Freshman of the Year (1998)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2008
TD-INT: 32-37 Passing yards: 6,337 QB Rating: 71.7
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Lavonya Quintelle "Quincy" Carter (born October 13, 1977 in Template:City-state) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Georgia.

Carter has also been a member of the New York Jets, Montreal Alouettes, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings, Kansas City Brigade and Abilene Ruff Riders.

Early years

Carter attended Southwest DeKalb High School where he played quarterback.

Baseball career

Carter originally signed a football letter of intent with Georgia Tech in 1996, but opted instead to play minor league baseball after being drafted by the Chicago Cubs as an outfielder 52nd overall in the 1996 amateur draft.

With the Gulf Coast Cubs of the rookie league in 1234, Carter played in 55 games and hit .215. The following year, he was promoted to the Rockford Cubbies of Single-A and hit .211 in 105 games. He appeared in 28 games for Rockford in 1998, hitting .248 in 27 games. His final year in 1999, he went 0-for-3 in one game for the Daytona Cubs of Advanced A ball.

College career

Struggling with his baseball career, Carter went to the University of Georgia in 1998, where he won the job of starting quarterback in a highly contested battle (over future Oklahoma starter, Nate Hybl, among others) and after a good freshman season was recognized as one of the top young quarterbacks in the nation. He had a decent sophomore season but was mediocre as a junior due to injuries and inconsistency.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Carter declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft after his junior season and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft.

Carter became the starting quarterback for the Cowboys team as a rookie, being part of a succession of short-tenured quarterbacks following the retirement of Troy Aikman. The highlight of his rookie season was a 20-13 victory over the New York Giants in which Carter threw for nearly 200 yards, scrambled for a first down late in the game, and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Dallas would sign another young quarterback and former baseball player, Chad Hutchinson, following Carter's rookie season. He lost the starting job during his second season to Hutchinson after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals in which he engaged in a heated sideline "discussion" with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. However, in his third season, under newly-hired head coach Bill Parcells, Carter retook the starting role and led the Cowboys to a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance. Hutchinson was released the next season after playing in NFL Europe.

Carter was released on August 4, 2004 in the offseason under unclear circumstances. The group of quarterbacks for the Cowboys that offseason had expanded with the trade for yet another former baseball player, Drew Henson, and the acquisition of Vinny Testaverde off waivers. Before Carter's release, it had been projected that he had a slight edge over Testaverde for the starting role and that former third-string quarterback, Tony Romo, would be released. Many believe Carter was released because of a failed drug test, and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said that for reasons including but not limited to his drug problems Carter could not be trusted with the leadership of the team. The official Cowboys statement regarding his release was a failed drug test, a poor attitude over the signing of Testaverde, and an average performance during the first week of training camp.

Carter played for the Cowboys as jersey number 17.

New York Jets

After being released by the Cowboys, Carter was signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets where he served as a backup to Chad Pennington and started three games (winning two) after Pennington injured his rotator cuff. He suffered a drug relapse during the 2004 playoffs and has since received treatment for drug addiction and bipolar disorder in Houston. The Jets released him during the 2005 offseason.

Carter's release by the Cowboys is currently subject to an arbitration hearing by the NFLPA. He officially filed his retirement papers in September 2005 but has stated he intends to return to the NFL.

Montreal Alouettes

On April 4, 2006, Carter was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League to a one year contract with an option for 2007 only to be released by the team the following month. On the subject of being released, Carter remarked, "This is a joke... an insult." One CFL club official told the Montreal Gazette that Carter has "a serious marijuana problem."

On December 15, 2006 Carter was arrested in Irving, Texas on possession of marijuana charges. He was released in lieu of a $500 bond paid by Dallas-Fort Worth area sports talk-show host and journalist, Randy Galloway.

Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings

In February 2007, Carter signed with the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings, of af2. Through the first three games of the 2007 season, he was the third rated passer, with a rating of 124.3, throwing 18 touchdown passes, but he was suspended indefinitely from the team in late May for missing team meetings. Rumors swirled that he had quit the team, but Battle Wings coach Jon Norris named Carter the starting quarterback for their June 16 game against the Corpus Christi Sharks. He passed for a franchise-record eight touchdown in the Battle Wings' 81-35 win.

Carter was arrested on possession charges by Shreveport police on October 12, 2007. Because the incident marked the second time he was arrested for the same crime, the charge was a felony. He was released on his 30th birthday, on a bond of $5,224, according to an official in the records department at the Caddo Correctional Facility.

Kansas City Brigade

On June 2, Carter signed with the Arena Football League's Kansas City Brigade. The Brigade, who had one victory at the time of the signing, were hoping Carter's strong arm could resurrect their season. Herman Edwards, the former Kansas City Chiefs head coach who coached Carter while with the Jets, commented on Carter's personality calling him of "good character." Carter started the last three games of the season for Kansas City and was signed to a two-year contract extension.

On July 31, 2008 Carter had a workout with the Miami Dolphins. However, he was not signed. On October 20, 2008 he was released by the Brigade.

Abilene Ruff Riders

Carter signed a one-year contract for a Walmart gift certificate with the Abilene Ruff Riders of the new Indoor Football League in March 2009. On May 10, 2009, he was arrested by Abilene police for an outstanding warrant, related to a DWI arrest in south Texas and subsequent probation violation. Carter was arrested again on June 18, 2009, for failing to pay his bondsman after his May 10 arrest. Returning from injury, Carter no-showed for the July 4th game and was subsequently cut from the team.

See also

• List of Arena Football League and National Football League players