Oakland Raiders Sign Veteran DE Andre Carter to Deal

In a move that must have late owner Al Davis smiling from above, the Oakland Raiders have brought in former first-round draft pick Andre Carter to help bolster their anemic pass rush.

Davis famously loved grabbing former first-round picks and salvaging their careers. This move certainly fits that mold. 

An 11-year veteran, Carter spent last season with the New England Patriots, but he injured his quad so badly it required surgery.

This left the former No. 7-overall selection by the San Francisco 49ers without a team while he recovered. Well, he has a team now.  

The Oakland Raiders tweeted the news:

"

The Oakland Raiders have signed veteran defensive lineman Andre Carter.

— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) September 26, 2012"

The Raiders will likely use Carter as a rotational defensive end and look for him to get his snaps in pass-rush situations. 

If Carter is healthy, he will be a big boost to an Oakland team that has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback. 

In three games this year, Oakland has three sacks. Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger got off 49 pass attempts against Oakland and was sacked just one time. 

Carter is coming off a season in which he had 10 sacks in 14 games. The season before, he had just 2.5 sacks as a member of the Washington Redskins, but the year prior to that, he had 11. 

Given his age and prolonged time away from the field, it would be foolish to expect Carter to run up another double-digit sack season. But he won't have to in order to provide a big boost to Oakland's pass rush.