As the Denver Broncos deal with injuries to the inside linebacker spot, Jamal Carter has taken it upon himself to transition from safety to the position.
Injuries have hit the Denver Broncos in a huge way early on in the preseason. So far, there are two players who have landed on injured reserve due to serious injuries and two players are going to miss significant time. The position that it has been the worst in is at inside linebacker.
With little free agents out there, the Denver Broncos are turning to Jamal Carter to help out at inside linebacker. A strong safety for the team, Carter saw his 2018 campaign end prematurely due to a torn hamstring in the first preseason game. Now he will take on a bigger role as Vic Fangio revealed Carter was transitioning to the role of inside linebacker.
Vic Fangio and Jamal Carter are both in agreement to making the change. Fangio mentions that the move is “temporary, but could become permanent.”
When it comes to safeties transitioning to the inside linebacker position, there has been some success. Broncos Country fans are familiar with Su’a Cravens, who is trying to fill in that role. We have also seen T.J. Ward at times line up as a linebacker on certain plays.
In the NFL, there have been players like Deone Bucannon that have played the hybrid safety/inside linebacker position. It helps give the defense an extra plan of attack and to help confuse the offense. Is he going to blitz or is he going to drop in coverage?
Having Jamal Carter as the hybrid player should benefit him and provide some time on the field. He was one of the bigger stories and was playing well to make the roster until his injury surfaced last season.
This could be an interesting transition to watch going into the final three games of the 2019 preseason as well as the regular season. Here’s hoping Jamal Carter performs well at the position.