RB Michael Carter a mature, team-first player for Jets

Michael Carter was at home Monday evening, hours after talking about how he always prepares to be the lead back, when he got a call from coach Robert Saleh. He told Carter that the Jets were trading for former 1,000-yard running back James Robinson.

Carter’s first reaction was, “Why the [expletive] would the Jaguars trade James Robinson?”

It was a good move for the 5-2 Jets. Unexpectedly, they’re a contending team, and they needed insurance, depth and a proven back after losing playmaking rookie Breece Hall for the season because of a torn ACL the previous afternoon in Denver.

Sure, the Jets have Carter, but you can’t fault them for wanting to bolster their team — and he doesn’t.

“It’s a long season and it’s always better to stay out in front of stuff like that, especially when we have a team like we have right now that can really go and do something,” Carter told Newsday. “It’s good to add good players like that.”

Carter will be the lead back on Sunday when the Jets face the Patriots. Robinson isn’t very familiar with the playbook, so the Jets will take it slowly with him. Saleh wouldn’t commit to Robinson playing this week, but he eventually will get his shot.

Was Carter bothered by the move? Maybe, but he would never show it or reveal it. He has never put himself before the team.

This situation with Hall and now Robinson is nothing new for Carter. At North Carolina, he shared the backfield with Denver’s Javonte Williams, who tore his ACL earlier this season. Carter has never shied away from competition. He embraces it and says it makes him better.

“When you have really good players around you, it’s only going to push you to get better or it can make you fold like a lawn chair,” he said. “I never fold, so it’s going to make you better.”

Carter also embraces his teammates — all of them — and is a respected voice in the locker room.

When the Jets drafted Hall in the second round, it was evident that he would supplant Carter as lead back at some point. Yet Carter, a fourth-round pick a year ago and the Jets’ leading rusher in 2021, took the rookie under his wing and tried to help Hall as much as possible. That’s just his nature.

Carter is only 23 years old, but the Jets talk about him with reverence and say he’s mature beyond his years.

Case in point: When running backs coach Taylor Embree had to leave practice Wednesday for the birth of his child, Carter ran the video session for the backs.

“He’s so mature,” Embree said. “He gets everything. We have a good relationship to where you just tell him what’s going on. He’s aware like we’re doing something right now and we got a chance at a playoff run and we’re doing it through the run game on offense. MC doesn’t want to handle all the load himself. He’s a true teammate. He’s been awesome.

“I had the baby the other day and he had to do some coaching in the film room. Whatever the task is, he steps up and he shows his maturity. He just wants to win.”

The Jets have won four in a row with a stingy defense and Hall sparking the offense. He accounted for 468 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns in those games, and he almost had six. Hall was tackled twice at the 1-yard line after long gains against Miami, and Carter scored both times. But Hall’s emergence led to Carter taking a back seat.

Carter started and played more than 60% of the snaps the first two games, and then less than 50% the next four. When Hall got hurt against Denver, Carter’s workload increased. He had 15 touches for 74 yards. Both were the most he had since Week 1.

Now Carter, who said he’s been putting pressure on himself this season, has an opportunity to reestablish himself as a playmaker.

“I want to be great so bad,” he said. “You get opportunities to do stuff and you might not do it, but football has a weird way of coming around 360 degrees where you might get that shot again. You got to learn from every mistake and learn from every win, too. You can always get better.”

That’s where Carter’s focus has been and always is. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur marvels at Carter’s leadership and perpetual positive attitude. He said he speaks to Carter all the time.

“I have more respect for him as a human than I do even as a player and a co-worker,” LaFleur said. “He’s handling it like a professional and he just wants to do his job and help contribute to winning football games.”

LaFleur said Carter remains “vastly important” to the Jets’ offense. He’s also a security blanket for second-year quarterback Zach Wilson.

“He’s very important to this offense and important to me as well,” Wilson said. “There’s times I look at him in the backfield like, ‘Hey, be ready, because the ball is coming to you right here.’ You get it to him at 5 yards and he’ll take it 20, 25 yards.”

Carter appreciates the way everyone speaks about him, but he wants his game and his play to speak the loudest.

“I feel like I got so much more in the tank,” he said. “What they think means a lot, but at the same time, my head is down and I’m working. I have so much more.

“A lot of people don’t get this chance. I’m working every day to get better. Just like you got to block the hate out, you got to block the love sometimes just to go get better. You’ll have your head up eight years later and you’re like, ‘Damn, this is what I created.’ That’s where my focus is right now.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.