Broncos roster 2015: Tony Carter

A day-by-day Broncos player breakdown is something we've been doing since our days at BroncoTalk nearly a decade ago. This year the tradition continues as we look at the Denver Broncos roster heading into the 2015 season in our 90-in-90 series.

Name: Tony Carter
Position: Cornerback
Height: 5' 9"  Weight: 175
Age: 29   Experience: 7th Season
College: Florida State

Tony Carter is one of the most known names in the Denver Broncos backup roster in recent history...and that isn't necessarily a great thing. He's a fan favorite to hate on due to playing more than a little handsy at times (or so it seems).

Tony entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent back in 2009. He signed with Denver originally, had a stint with the New England Patriots back in 2010, was signed by the Vikings early in 2011, and finally rejoined the rest of us in God's country in the 2011 season.

The good:

Tony excels in man-to-man coverage. He has great speed, quickness, and mirroring ability that is really at a level that many corners in the NFL do not have.  Myself and others have gone on record several times saying that Tony is a guy that could start on about 10 other teams in the NFL and we're very lucky to have him.

One of the things he does well that may not get noticed as much is his awareness. He's cashed in on some very nice fumble recoveries that he's taken to the house. He also has gotten a handful of picks in the past few years. Do keep in mind when you check his stats that all the things he's done have been on a whopping total of two games started.

The bad:

Tony's play style is typically press and he's gotten caught being "handsy" in the past. Unfortunately, the timing for his penalties have been at times extraordinarily bad so he's rightfully so acquired some haters in Broncos Country.

His zone coverage isn't as clean at all as I've seen him at times guessing, then having to flip his hips to get back into position. Luckily if this is indeed a true weakness in his game, it wouldn't be much of a problem with our new DC as the scheme can be adjusted to use him in man or put him in easy to read zone situations.

Roster status:

The only thing that is going to see Tony Carter not in orange and blue this year is one of the younger guys stepping up and flat out beating him handily in training camp. Tony has a lot of skill and value. His contract is very team-friendly. He also is a veteran presence who's seen a lot of football. There is a lot of talent at cornerback and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Tony is on the team come week 1.