CLEVELAND -- Defensive back T.J. Carrie may have signed a contract worthy of a starting spot in the Cleveland Browns’ secondary, but when the full team reports for offseason workouts in mid-April, there will be no sense of entitlement out of the fifth-year professional.
If anything, Carrie is going to use the kind of mindset that made him a consistent contributor in the National Football League after being a seventh-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Ohio University.
“I think the biggest thing for me is to come in here with a sound mind and compete,” Carrie said. “Nothing is given in this league. You have to compete for everything that you want to accomplish.
“Though I’m coming here to be a starter, that is still yet to be seen. I still have to display my talents to this staff and to this organization, that they can feel comfortable enough to trust me being on the field. Competition is something that I embrace and something that I have been doing for a very long time. I’m excited to get started.”
PHOTOS: Despite starter money, DB T.J. Carrie focuses on competing for spot with Cleveland Browns
Carrie proved durable over his first four years in the league and appeared in 60 out of a possible 64 games for the Raiders.
While in the silver and black, Carrie totaled 205 tackles, including 171 solo stops and 34 assists, with 30 passes defended, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and four recoveries.
“That is something that cornerbacks these days are going to have to start doing more often,” Carrie said of his tackling abilities. “It used to be that we just come into this game and are built to cover. The game is evolving consistently. Year after year, they are expecting cornerbacks to do a lot more within just covering.
“Tackling is definitely a strength and an ability that I feel like I bring to the table, within the defensive scheme to count on me and to depend on me to come up and make that tackle versus the running back or the fullback or a tight end out in the flat. I think that brings an asset of value.”
In 2017, Carrie registered single-season personal bests for total tackles, solo stops and assists, fumble recoveries and matched his previous high with nine passes defended.
And Carrie is very much looking forward to building on that career year under the tutelage of Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
“I have played against him when he was in St. Louis, and their defenses have always been savvy in the things that they have done,” Carrie said. “I have always liked the things that they were able to do on defense, especially from a secondary standpoint.
“They really mix a lot of the things up. They have really deceptive blitzes, some things that really can throw off offensive opponents to allow the secondary and the back end an opportunity to make a big play. Seeing what he has done here has been something that he has normally done wherever he has been, I’m excited to play under his scheme and to be able to work with a tremendous staff and organization.”
