Alex Carter is excited, eager for move to safety

You may not know it, but Detroit Lions safety Alex Carter and his wife Ari have a YouTube series where they detail their life and their relationship. Topics on the series range from Carter’s football career to long-distance relationship advice to general updates on each of their lives.

On Monday, Alex and Ari released their first episode in three months and one of the most interesting topics was Alex’s move to safety with the Lions. He was very forthcoming and honest with his feelings about the move.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Alex said in the 24-minute video. “I knew that eventually in my career I would move to safety. I thought it was going to be five more years down the road.”

Detroit drafted Carter in the third round of 2015 draft. Some draft analysts believed Carter’s size and skillset translated better to safety from the get go, but the Lions had him slotted at cornerback for the first two years in the NFL.

That changed this year after the Lions added DJ Hayden in free agency and drafted cornerbacks Teez Tabor (second round) and Jamal Agnew (fifth). Suddenly, it looked like there was no spot for Carter on the roster. But once OTAs opened up, it was clear Alex was going to compete at safety instead. There he’ll have to compete with the likes of Don Carey, Charles Washington, Miles Killebrew and others for one of the backup spots.

Carter faced a lot of challenges in his first two years at cornerback. He lost his entire rookie year due to a preseason injury. Then, despite being fully healthy in 2016, Carter couldn’t manage to get on the field for a single defensive snap.

In his YouTube series, Alex and Ari detailed one of the toughest struggles for Alex at cornerback: making weight. “It got tough,” Alex said.

“I was so stressed out these past two years,” Ari said. “He’s not supposed to be under 200 pounds ever. It’s not healthy.” But according to Alex, the Lions set his weight under the two century mark, 196 pounds to be exact. And if he didn’t make weight, the Lions were liable to fine him. “For each pound that you are overweight, it’s $630,” Alex said. “So if I had come in one year above my set weight, we go broke.” To his credit, it appears Alex stuck with it. There were no reports of him ever showing up to practice overweight and he doesn’t appear to have ever been fined.

But Alex and Ari are in a much better place now. They both look ecstatic that Alex will have a little more wiggle room with his weight (between 202 and 205, according to Alex). Ari is happy that he can stop skipping meals now. “I’m just glad you get to eat more,” she told Alex.

As for the chance to compete at safety, Alex is eager to get his shot. “I’m cool with it. I’m excited,” Alex said.

Check out the full episode of Alex and Ari’s YouTube show below. It should be fun to keep track of during the leadup to the season. The two even promise to give video updates in the middle of the season.