Bond With Bisaccia Helps Carpenter With Position Change

Tariq Carpenter, a seventh-round pick as a safety last year, had two interceptions as a linebacker on Family Night.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Aug 6, 2023 10:02 PM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Tariq Carpenter intercepted two passes during the Green Bay Packers’ Family Night practice on Saturday, but he’s still not sold on his new life as a linebacker.

“I’ll be walking around trying to make excuses for myself, feeling bad,” Carpenter said after his big night, “but everybody else (is) just telling me, ‘You’re a linebacker now. You’ve just got to suck it up and do (your) job.’”

A key part of his support system as he makes the difficult switch from safety has been special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who has embraced the player as well as the person. Bisaccia went so far as to visit Carpenter during his offseason training in Atlanta.

“I guess he cares about me,” Carpenter said. “I appreciated him for coming to see me.”

The first year-plus of Carpenter’s NFL career has been an odyssey.

A four-year starting safety at Georgia Tech, most teams viewed Carpenter as a linebacker before the 2022 NFL Draft. So, he trained for that position and bulked up to 235 pounds to better handle the rigors of a new position. The Packers drafted him in the seventh round but kept him at safety.

Throughout the season, Carpenter dropped weight. He was down to about 215 pounds for the stretch run, meaning improved speed and stamina, when the Packers gave him a shot at outside linebacker.

That experiment didn’t last long. However, not long before the start of the offseason program, coach Matt LaFleur called and told him he was being moved to inside linebacker. Bisaccia had already given him a heads up.

“I never played linebacker in my life. It’s like I’m learning freaking Portuguese,” Carpenter said in June.

Carpenter is feeling more at home, though it’s not exactly home sweet home.

“I still believe I am a safety,” Carpenter said on Saturday. “As far as my traits go, I’m long, athletic, explosive, not really a stout type of guy. I’m more of an athlete. I’m strong going forward. I’m strong coming with speed. I’ve just got to grow into it. I’m going to have some bumps and bruises throughout the way.”

Carpenter had a great night – his “best” one since the position change, he said. On the first interception, he re-routed his man, played his technique perfectly and made a leaping catch of Sean Clifford’s pass.

“If my eyes are where they’re supposed to be, I make a lot more plays,” Carpenter said.

The second interception came against Alex McGough, who delivered a strong ball to Dontayvion Wicks but the ball was jarred loose by rookie safety Benny Sapp and popped into the hustling hands of Carpenter.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said.

Barring injuries, Carpenter’s not going to be a factor on defense. With De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker, the Packers have one of the top starting tandems in the NFL. Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson will provide quality depth.

Where Carpenter will make his mark is on special teams. While McDuffie and Wilson tied for the team lead with 13 tackles on the kick-coverage units, Carpenter had eight tackles during the second half of the season. The tools that make him an intriguing prospect at linebacker are what have made him one of Bisaccia’s guys.

“I feel pretty good about special teams,” Carpenter said. “I think I’m one of the best cover guys in the league. Just watching my tape from last year, I made some mistakes but coming into Year 2, I expect to be a lot better.”