Patriots Carter Needs Season-Ending Surgery
BOSTON (CBS) - New England defensive end Andre Carter's season is over with a left quad injury, WBZ-TV's Dan Roche has confirmed.
Carter had to be carted off the field in the Patriots 41-23 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday, after injuring the knee while defending a run play at the end of the first quarter. After being attended to by the medical staff he was wheeled off and taken to the locker room.
While he did not have an update after the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick praised his defensive unit for coming through in Carter's absence.
"We used a lot of people on defense, and they all stepped up and came through for us at one time or another," said Belichick. "Losing Carter was a big loss there in the second quarter, but we had guys step up and they contributed throughout the game."
Read:Pats-Broncos Highs and Lows
Veteran lineman Mark Anderson was one of the many Patriots who stepped up to fill the void, chipping in with two sacks and a forced fumble.
"He's a very vocal leader on our team, everyone looks up to him," Anderson said of Carter. "He's been there before and he's a great player. Losing him was very critical and everyone had to step up."
"It's something we worked on during practice, we all get reps," he said of stepping up in Carter's absence. "Losing Andre is a big part of our defense… we were able to look past that and everyone was able to step up and make plays.
"It's a shame, that's the one bad thing about football is there will always be injuries," said linebacker Rob Ninkovich. "A guy like Andre Carter, I have all the respect in the world for him. He's a great football player."
A free-agent signing in the off-season, Carter was one of the team's top defensive players. He leads New England with 10 sacks in the first 13 games, and also has 52 tackles and two forced fumbles.
Tune in to the Patriots-Broncos game Sunday on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub at 4:15pm. After the game, tune in to The Postgame Show on 98.5 and Patriots Fifth Quarter on MyTV38.
