EARLY CAREER
Chris Carson was born in Mississippi, and grew up in Lilburn, Georgia. He began his collegiate career at Butler Community College, playing alongside future Ed Block Courage award recipient Michael Gallup. In 2015, he committed to the University of Georgia, but flipped to Oklahoma State University. This was to avoid having to avoid being berried in Georgia’s depth chart behind current NFL players Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. At OSU, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and found the endzone 13 times in 2 seasons.
NFL BEGINNINGS
Drafted 249th overall by the Seattle Seahawks in 2017, Carson earned himself a roster spot through an impressive preseason performance. Due to some injuries, Carsons playing time in his rookie season was limited. The next year, Carson took over the backfield after an injury to rookie RB Rashaad Penny. He had a breakout season with 1,300 yards and 9 touchdowns. He followed that up the following year, accumulating 1,500 yards and 7 touchdowns.
INJURIES AND THE ED BLOCK COURAGE AWARD
Chris Carson’s football career was filled with overcoming constant adversity. He was drafted into a very young RB room and quickly showed the most promise. Just before he would’ve became the full time starter as a rookie, Carson suffered a season ending injury in week 4 that kept him out until the 2018 season. From there, he went on to have his best 2 seasons in the years following, despite missing 5 more games throughout them. In 2020, Carson started off the season fairly slow, being on pace for a 900 yard season through the first 6 weeks. He missed missed 4 games with a sprained foot but bounced back upon his return. He ran for 400 yards and received nearly 150 more through the air. His perseverance led to his selection as the Seahawks’ 2020 Ed Block Courage Award recipient.
POST PLAYING CAREER
Chris Carson’s NFL career was cut short in 2021, after suffering a season-ending neck injury in week 5. Later that offseason, he was unable to pass the team’s physical and was required to medically retire. Since then, Carson has stayed fairly off the grid, but can be seen now-and-then on his trainer’s Instagram page.
