Raiders sign DE Andre Carter, officially announce Barksdale cut

The Raiders have announced they have signed veteran free agent defensive lineman Andre Carter. Reports came out earlier today that the team had cut Joseph Barksdale. While he was not practice, he was spotting leaving the Raiders practice facility with his belongings in hand. The team has made that cut official as the corresponding move to clear a roster spot for Carter.

Carter earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season, after totaling 10 sacks with the Patriots. He had played in 110 consecutive games before being placed on injured reserve late last season with a leg injury.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Carter is a 12th-year NFL veteran, having played for San Francisco, Washington and New England since entering the league as the 49ers' first-round selection (seventh overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft, just one pick after the Patriots drafted Carter's new Raiders teammate Richard Seymour.

Carter has played in 163 career games with 147 starts, totaling 76 sacks, 23 passes defensed, 17 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. His 76 career sacks ranks eighth among active NFL players.

Carter has recorded 10 or more sacks in a season four times during his career, including a career-high 12.5 sacks with the 49ers in 2002. He totaled 10.5 sacks in 2007 and 11 in 2009, both with the Redskins.

The San Jose native played his collegiate career as Cal and finished as the school's all-time leader with 31 sacks, earning unanimous first-team All-America selections from the Associated Press and The Sporting News as a senior. He prepped at Oak Grove High School in San Jose, receiving USA Today All-America honors.