
Carr scored a rare undrafted free agent signing bonus from the Bucs.
The underwear Olympics NFL Combine is not an all-inclusive event. To participate in the combine, one must be invited by the NFL.
Playing cornerback at Arizona State, Deveron Carr thought being an All PAC-12 honorable mention cornerback (who logged a 4.0 in the fall of 2012 as a grad student), would get him invited to the NFL Combine to show off his wares for NFL scouts and coaches.
When that didn’t happen, Carr was one PO’ed person. Smart guy that he is, he turned all of that negative energy into his workouts rather than sulk.
He posted times of 4.36 and 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at the Sun Devils’ pro day and when he fell through the cracks of the draft, Bucs rock star general manger Mark Dominik offered him a signing bonus of $15,000 to sign with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent; an unheard of sum.
Carr spoke about the emotional rollercoaster he has ridden the past few months.
“I can run fast, a lot of guys out west can run fast, speedy guys,” Carr said.”
When he wasn’t selected to work out at the combine, “I was pissed off for greatness,” Carr said. “I did not take it negative at all. Every day in training I took it out, I put all that [anger] into training. If I let that take me down, I wouldn’t be able to perform.”
Carr could have signed with any team — teams, unlike the Bucs, who are desperate for corners. Instead, he selected the Bucs because of the top-heavy roster highlighted by one Darrelle Revis.
“With Darrelle Revis on the roster, he is the best at man-press and that’s what I am good at,” Carr said. “To come in and have a great opportunity to learn from a vet like him” is a tremendous advantage.
Carr noted that he struggled with a few techniques the Bucs had him use, struggled because he was foreign to these concepts.
“Yeah, I was struggling with technique a little bit but I thought positive about it,” Carr said. “Hey, I have to get this technique and I think I am getting closer to perfecting it each day. It’s a little different. I am just used to backpedaling.
“I’m not looking for any handouts. I am just looking to play hard.”
Carr, at one point during this weekend’s rookie minicamp, was singled out by coaches to join a handful of other cornerbacks, including second-round pick Johnthan Banks, for specific instructions. This is a good sign. Typically, only those expected to survive the weekend are pulled aside for individual coaching. This is how Leonard Johnson, also an undrafted free agent corner, made his bones last spring.