'Really tough': Debut of promising rookie Carter on hold

Allen Park — For the second season in a row, one of the Lions' top draft picks will miss at least the first eight weeks of the season, and general manager Martin Mayhew said he's disappointed he'll have to wait to see what rookie cornerback Alex Carter can contribute.

"He'll be playing for us, but it's just disappointing to see that start," Mayhew said Monday. "And I'm disappointed for him, and he's very disappointed as well."

Last year, second-round linebacker Kyle Van Noy went on injured reserve with designation for return after an August core muscle surgery. On Sunday, the Lions placed Carter, a third-round pick, on the same list, and he won't be able to practice until after Week 6 and can't make his debut until Week 10.

The Lions drafted Carter to be one of their top backups on the outside behind Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay and hoped he could develop into the long-term starter alongside Slay. At 6-foot, 196 pounds and with a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, Carter has a rare combination of size, speed and strength that can make him a versatile cover man in the Lions' scheme.

But after reporting early for training camp along with the other rookies, Carter suffered an ankle injury during a drill and only returned to practice in individual drills a couple days this summer.

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"Alex's (injury) was really tough," Mayhew said. "It was the first day of training camp he got injured and then we tried to work him back in and kind of aggravated it again.

"Just really tough for a young guy like that. He missed so much time because of being a Stanford kid and they're on quarter system, so he missed a lot of offseason time."

Due to scholastic obligations at Stanford, Carter also missed the start of organized team activities and had to watch practices on an iPad and try to replicate the techniques in California.

Despite all the time he'll miss, Mayhew thinks Carter has the tools to overcome it. Plus, he's just 20 years old.

"He's very conscientious," Mayhew said. "He's working his rehab very well. He's going to get better."

Like last year with Van Noy, the Lions used the IR-DFR tag on a player they expect can help them in 2015, but now, if another player suffers an injury with an eight-week time frame, they won't have the luxury of the short-term option. The Lions used a roster spot on defensive tackle Nick Fairley for the second half of last year even though he didn't play after Week 8 due to a knee injury.

"My philosophy on that is it's best to just use it," Mayhew said. "You don't want to have it in your back pocket when the season's over. You don't know if anybody's going to come up that you could use that for."

For now, Mayhew said he thinks Carter has the intelligence and physical tools to contribute to the Lions, but is unsure just how much he can do as a rookie.

"That's a good question, and I'm looking forward to finding that out," he said. "I want to see him out there."

jkatzenstein@detroitnews.com

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