Jermaine Carter
2021 Team: Carolina Panthers
Jermaine Carter earned a starting job with the Panthers last season and he took full advantage of his opportunity. He helped Carolina’s defense with a career-high 88 tackles (three for a loss) in 17 starts.
Carter is not a high turnover guy or even a huge game-changer at linebacker, but he has shown steady improvement in each of his four seasons, and his productivity rises with his opportunities. If the Vikings do implement a shift to a 3-4 defense, Carter would be a nice fit next to Eric Kendricks in the middle.
Kendricks is a stud against both the pass and run, but without any help next to him lately, he has had a lot of messes to clean up. Adding Jermaine Carter to the fold would take some of that pressure off of Kendricks and let him roam free in the middle.
Signing him to a multi-year deal could open the door for Carter taking over the starting job in 2023 if the Vikings feel the need to move on from Kendricks. This would give the Vikings a complimentary inside linebacker that can play early downs with the base defense and replace Kendricks if he deals with injuries once again next season.