Tennessee star pulls a 180 and yanks the rug out from under the Vols with last second transfer portal decision
One of Tennessee’s top defenders won’t be going to the NFL, but apparently won’t be back in Knoxville either.
It appeared as though the Tennessee Vols were going to end up losing linebacker Arion Carter to the NFL Draft. That’s something that Vol fans were willing to accept, as that’s the natural progression of a player in his position as he moves on to the next level.
However, in today’s college football landscape, that’s no longer a given. And with Carter, that’s not how things are going to turn out, it appears.
Per On3 Sports, Carter is withdrawing his name from the NFL Draft, but rather than return to Tennessee, he’s entering the transfer portal.
Tennessee LB Arion Carter withdrawing his name from NFL Draft, entering the transfer portal
Carter announced back on December 12 in a Twitter (X) post that he would be foregoing his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. As the comments indicated, fans were largely behind the move and wished him well.
But it appears as though Carter won’t be finishing his career as a Vol despite saying he’s forever a Vol in his social media post. Carter is apparently choosing to go to another college program instead.
With rules basically no longer existing when it comes to tampering, enticing players to enter the portal, etc., it shouldn’t come as a surprise if another team came out with an offer to Carter’s agent to get him to forego the NFL for one more year and earn a solid payday somewhere else before turning his sights back to playing on Sundays a year from now.
If the compensation is right, such a situation could be a solid business move. In the NFL, third round picks make in the neighborhood of $1.2-1.3 million in the first year of their contract on the rookie pay scale. That’s a number that college teams — if they valued the position enough — could certainly exceed.
Carter was already on his way out, so it’s not as though the expectation was for him to be back on the roster in 2026. But choosing to find a new home rather than return will be tough for some Vol fans to swallow.
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