Bengals Player Profile: Barrett Carter has all eyes on him in the middle of a revamped defense
Barrett Carter’s main concern is just doing enough to stay on the field, and to prove why the Cincinnati Bengals didn’t find a better option in the middle of an otherwise overhauled defense.
We’re 39 days away from the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Every member of the Bengals’ 90-man roster will have their own player profile by the time the entire roster is nearly cut in half. Check out previous player profiles here.
The next player in our series is under inordinate pressure in just his second season.
Barrett Carter Player Profile
Age: 23
Year: 2nd
Position: Linebacker
College: Clemson
Jersey Number: 49
Barrett Carter was originally selected with the No. 119 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Prior to the NFL, Carter spent four years at Clemson (2021-124) and started 40 of the 52 games he played for the Tigers. The former five-star recruit was a team captain and first-team All-ACC player in his final year with the program 2024.
Cincinnati put Carter behind Logan Wilson at the start of his rookie season. It only took six weeks for that to change. Carter was the starting middle linebacker by Week 6, and Wilson was traded away right before the trade deadline a couple weeks later. The results weren’t as promising as the Bengals hoped. Carter struggled mightily as a rookie starter. His tackling and angles in open space were routinely exposed. Playing next to a fellow rookie in Demetrius Knight Jr. also didn’t help matters.
Contract details
Carter is entering the second year of his four-year, $5,182,116 rookie contract. His base salary for 2026 is $1,005,000, which is also his entire cash figure for the year as well. When adding on his signing bonus proration of $245,529, his salary cap hit for the year is $1,250,529.
Roster outlook
There’s no doubt about Carter making the roster. He ended the season as the starting MIKE wearing the green dot on his helmet, and he will begin training camp the same way. Even if camp and the preseason go completely off the rails for him, he’s still on a manageable contract as a backup for at least this season.
Carter’s main concern is just doing enough to stay on the field, and to not give the front office reason to find a better option in the middle of an otherwise overhauled defense. He has confidence from his coaches, which will get him to the start of the season. Anything beyond that is entirely up to his play.
Roster odds: 100%