![]() Carder with the Cleveland Browns in 2015 | |||||
No. 94, 59 | |||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Sweeny, Texas, U.S. | January 18, 1989||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Sweeny | ||||
College: | TCU | ||||
NFL draft: | 2012: 5th round, 147th pick | ||||
Career history | |||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Ricky "Tank" Carder Jr. [1] (born January 18, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Carder played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs. He was a 2010 All-American selection by the American Football Coaches Association. [2]
When he was 10 years old, Carder was a BMX World Champion. Battled back from a life-threatening injury at age 13, when he sustained a broken back, broken ribs, a punctured diaphragm and punctured lung after being thrown from a vehicle, which then rolled over him. [3]
Carder attended Sweeny High School in Texas, where he accounted for 1,200 yards of offense and 116 tackles on defense in his senior year. He was regarded as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. [4]
Four-year letterman at Texas Christian University, where he was named a two-time Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year (2010, 2011).
In the 2011 Rose Bowl, Carder was named Defensive MVP of the Game. He batted down a two-point conversion pass late in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game to go into overtime but secured the win for TCU with a final score of 21–19. [5]
Carder was selected in the fifth round, 147th overall, in the 2012 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. [6] [7] On August 31, 2012, the Bills released Carder for final roster cuts.
Carder was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on September 4, 2012. [8] He has played in 30 career games, with two starts at linebacker, and is a primary contributor on special teams.
The Browns re-signed Carder on March 7, 2016. [9] [10]
In the second preseason game of 2017, Carder suffered a torn ACL and was ruled out for the season. [11] [12]
On March 26, 2018, Carder re-signed with the Browns. [13] He was released by the Browns on June 5, 2018. [14]
On November 21, 2012, Carder sent a tweet calling another Twitter user a “faggot,” [15] leading to calls that he be fined and suspended. [16] The tweet was in response to a tweet about Call of Duty made by a satirical comedy account. [17] Carder stood by his statements, tweeting “I don’t agree with being gay or lesbian at all, but saying faggot doesn’t make me a homophobe, it’s just a word.” [18] Carder has since deleted the tweets [19] and apologized, claiming his tweets did not reflect his character. [20] The NFL did not impose any suspensions or fines.