Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 43 -- Andre Carter Brought the Heat

We are counting down Cal’s top 50 athletes based on their careers as post-collegiate professionals. Their performance as Golden Bears is not factored into the rankings.

43. ANDRE CARTER

Years at Cal: 1997 to 2000

Sport: Football

Pro teams: San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders

Age: 46

Hometown: Denver, CO

Why we ranked him here: Chosen by the 49ers with the No. 7 pick of the first round in the 2001 NFL draft, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end/outside linebacker played five seasons with San Francisco. His best year with the club was 2002, when he started all 16 games had had 12.5 sacks. Carter signed a six-year, $30 million free-agent contract with Washington in 2006. He played five seasons with the franchise and had 10.5 sacks and 2007 and 11 more in 2009. Released after the 2010 season, Carter was signed by the Patriots by 2011. He collected 10 sacks (including a franchise record-tying four in one game vs. the New York Jets) and 23 quarterback hits to earn his only Pro Bowl invite. But he suffered a season-ending quadriceps injury late in the regular season and missed New England’s run to Super Bowl XLVI, won 21-17 by the New York Giants. Carter played the 2012 season with the Raiders and was back with the Patriots in 2013, retiring after a 26-16 loss to Denver in the AFC championship game. Carter finished his 13-year NFL career with 512 tackles and 115 tackles for loss, including 80.5 sacks.

Andre Carter pushes past Oregon blocker | Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

At Cal: The son of former NFL nose guard Rubin Carter, who played 12 seasons with the Denver Broncos, Andre Carter came to Cal from Oak Grove High School in San Jose. He blossomed his final two seasons at Cal, earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors as a junior and senior, when he had 20 tackles for loss each year. Carter had 13.5 sacks as a senior in 2000 when he was voted the team’s MVP, earned consensus All-America honors and was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player. His 31 career sacks remains a program record.

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