Two Former Gators Sign NFL Contracts
Defensive lineman Zach Carter has re-signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, while offensive lineman Fred Johnson has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A pair of former Florida Gators football players have signed new contracts in the NFL.
Defensive lineman Zach Carter on Tuesday announced that he had re-signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after his contract expired. Details of his new deal are not immediately available.
Carter joined the organization after signing as a practice squad player on Oct. 10. The Raiders elevated him to the active roster 11 days later. In eight appearances with Las Vegas, Carter recorded 13 tackles and one sack.
He began his career after being drafted by the Cincinatti Bengals in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Carter played in 45 career games with 16 starts and totaled 68 tackles (28 solo), two sacks, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble and three passes defensed.
Meanwhile, offensive lineman Fred Johnson will be signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars to a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Johnson left the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent after three years with the franchise including last-year’s Super Bowl victory.
He originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 before being waived the following October. Johnson then spent the rest of the 2019 season and all of 2020 and 2021 with the Bengals.
After being released by Cincinnati before the 2022 season, Johnson spent most of the year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being waived and eventually signing with the Eagles. He spent three years in Philadelphia with stints on both the practice squad and active roster as a depth piece at tackle.
Gators in the NFL: Other Offseason Moves
Carter’s and Johnson’s individual signings are the latest in multiple moves by former Gators currently in the league.
Recently, the Buffalo Bills traded former first-round pick and former UF corner Kaiir Elam to the Dallas Cowboys, uniting him with former Florida quarterback-turned Cowboys’ head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Additionally, former UF quarterback Kyle Trask, the Gators’ most-recent Heisman Trophy finalist and the program’s all-time leader for passing touchdowns in a season, re-signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be Baker Mayfield’s backup.
Trask inked a one-year deal worth $2.787 million, according to Ian Rappaport, which makes Trask just the second quarterback drafted by Tampa Bay, and fourth overall, in the Buccaneers’ history to sign a second contract with the franchise.
Johnson is also the second former Gator to depart from Philadelphia after defensive back CJ Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Houston Texans.
Rounding out the group are defensive tackle TJ Slaton and corner Marco Wilson, who both signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Slaton signed a two-year, $15.1 million deal after his rookie contract with the Green Bay Packers expired, while Wilson re-signed with the franchise to a one-year, $1.52 million deal, according to Schefter.
Cam Parker is a contributing writer at AllGators.com of FanNation-Sports Illustrated and is a recent graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys listening to ’70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester.
The Florida Gators continue to get some high favorability from some big names ahead of March Madness. This time, it’s Dick Vitale. He has the Gators going all the way to the championsip game in San Antonio, Texas April 7.
He has them going all the way before falling to fellow one seed Duke in what he thinks will be an all-timer.
“Two heavyweights collide in a matchup for the ages,” Vitale said. “Florida battles, but the Blue Devils’ size and speed put them over the top. Duke is cutting down the nets, baby!”
Vitale has three of the four one seeds reaching the Final Four: Florida, Duke and Houston. Second seed Michigan State. He has one-seed Auburn losing to Michigan in the Sweet 16. The Spartans then take out the Wolverines in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four.
En route to the championship game, Florida will take down two notable schools. One is the reigning back-to-back champs, UConn. They became the first team since the Gators in 2006 and 2007 to win back-to-back and Florida will deny them the chance to outdo them with a threepeat. The Gators also have previous tournament history against the Huskies that would be avenged. In 2014, Florida lost to UConn in the Final Four.
The Gators then would beat Michigan State in the Final Four. For those who aren’t longtime fans, it should be noted there is some history here too. The Spartans beat Florida in the 2000 championship game – Florida’s first time reaching it.
So a lot of historically relevant matchups have been tabbed en route to a trip to the championship.
Along with Vitale picking the Gators as the runner-up, the entire College Gameday crew took it a step further. They have the Gators winning it all. They saw what went down in Nashville and the consensus was determined.
The Gators match to a national championship begins Friday, March 21, at 6:50 p.m. when they take on No. 16 Norfolk State. The bout will be held in Raleigh, NC.
All they have to do is prove a single pick of
Vitale’s wrong and they are the National Champions.
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