Friday, October 01, 1999Carter may be done as Bengal
Running back upset with front office
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerAn upset Ki-Jana Carter said Thursday there is “a serious possibility” he has played his last down for the Bengals.
Four years ago, Carter was all over the TV stations after the Bengals traded up to make the Penn State running back the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Wednesday night, only by watching ESPN did he learn he had been put on injured reserve with a dislocated right kneecap, his third season-ending injury in five years.
“At least out of respect, call and tell me. It's common courtesy,” Carter said. “No one should have to find out like that. The professionalism wasn't there on that one.”
Failing to call Carter gave the Bengals almost as many public relations gaffes as points scored in the last two weeks. Players still fumed over Wednesday's release of starting fullback Brian Milne, which came on the heels of a flap with the Reds over whether they can put grass in Cinergy Field.
“Sometimes those things happen,” said Bengals President Mike Brown, who offered an apology to Carter for the lack of communication. “If you have to do things at a certain time, maybe word gets out and it doesn't catch up to the guy ... It's just unfortunate. It's not a major thing, but it's not the way you want it to happen.”
Carter is to make $1.7 million next season and $1.9 million in 2001. He knows financially it would be easier for the Bengals to cut him after the season, because it would cost them just $2 million under next year's salary cap.
“It's crossed my mind about getting a fresh start because maybe I'm cursed here,” said Carter, whose injuries have limited him to 35 games in five years.
“But you can't think like that because it could happen to you somewhere else, too. I know they'll pay (No. 1 running back Corey Dillon). Maybe they'll pay both of us ... It's a serious possibility I won't be back.”
But Carter's mind is very much on Cincinnati, where he can't believe the “bad vibes” about the Bengals. There is even uncertainty, Carter said, in their own building.
“There's a lot of negativity. It's disgusting,” he said. “Players are upbeat, but throughout the media, the fans, there's (negativity). There seems to be a lot of doubt upstairs: "What can we do to get this thing turned around?' People start second-guessing themselves. After a while, it gets into the players in the games.
“The fans are getting upset, which they probably should. When you hear 60,000 fans booing, that starts working on
the psyche of the players. I'd rather have 10,000 people cheering.”
Carter thought he'd be able to play in six weeks, and doesn't know why the Bengals ended his season so soon. He said team doctor Rob Heidt Jr. told him it would take six to eight weeks. Carter's surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, told him it looked good for six weeks and possibly sooner.
“I could still play in 10 games when you figure in our bye week,” Carter said. “That seems like a lot of games to sit a guy down.”
Brown said the club was told Carter might be back in six weeks, but “there's no guarantee. ... Six weeks in a pro football season is a long time,” Brown said. “On balance, we not only have to do something for the final six games of the year, but for the next six games of the year.”
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