Atlanta Falcons Rookie RB Nathan Carter Puts NFL on Notice vs. Titans

“He plays with a fierce running style,” head coach Raheem Morris said after Friday night’s game against the Titans. “He's hard to get down to the ground. He showed it a couple times tonight. He carries the ball, and we're very fired up to have him. He runs really tough. He's a hard tackle, there's no doubt about that.

“To see him break out today versus another tough look, and he broke the line of scrimmage to be able to get out of there and show his speed, he's one of those young players that's just fighting for a spot on this roster and he shows up every single week and shows why he should be on it.”  

Only a week removed from being involved in the unfortunate collision with Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris, Atlanta Falcons rookie running back Nathan Carter had to get back to business on Friday night. 

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“Yeah, I was right there with him, when he was on the knee,” Morris said of last week’s events. “I think I had my hand on his shoulder. He was able to see that stuff, you know, obviously, you never want to see those things happen. When those kinds of things happen, you’ve got to be there to console your guys when those do happen to make sure that he's okay and he wants to make sure that the guy that he hurt was also okay.” 

There’s fierce competition for the No. 3 spot behind Robinson and Allgeier, with Carter, Carlos Washington Jr., Elijah Dotson, and Jashaun Corbin all vying for a spot. But there’s camaraderie withing the competition as well.

“It's huge. Not just for me, but really for the entire running back room for us to be able to put stuff like that on tape,” Carter said after the game. “We all work extremely hard to be able to work and get better every single day. Obviously, we have Bijan [Robinson] and Tyler [Allgeier]. Those are guys who thank me and encourage me.

“When I scored that touchdown, the first thing I saw was those guys up there, and that's huge. I look up to those guys so much and just being able to learn off of them. Those are two of the best backs in the entire league. It's amazing for them just being able to help me out, and for us as a team to be able to continue to get better every single day, to continue to push the offense so we can be the best offense in all of the National Football League.” 

The Falcons kept four running backs on their initial 53-man roster last year, but one of them was return specialist Avery Williams. Carter emphasized getting good work on tape, because he knows he’s not just auditioning for the Falcons but for 31 other teams in the preseason.

The undrafted rookie put the NFL on notice Friday night; he can play in this league.