Patriots defensive end Andre Carter was signed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots for the 2011 season after spending the previous 10 years with the 49ers and Redskins. In his one year with the Patriots, Carter led the team in quarterback pressures with 22 and tied for the lead in sacks with 10 before his year was cut short in Week 15 with a season-ending quad injury.
According to WEEI.com's Christopher Price, Carter's agent, Carl Poston, says that his client is ahead of schedule in rehab and would like to return to the Patriots for the 2012 season.
"He's rehabbing. He's in good shape. He wants to play," Poston said of Carter, who will turn 33 in May. "We're just kind of monitoring and tracking his injury, and when it's time to talk they're going to let me know. I just called them to see what their plans were, to see if they were interested, and I would have been surprised if they said they weren't interested. Obviously, they said they were interested, but it's a little premature, a little early, and I understood that. In terms of being a professional and doing my job, I just wanted to kind of call them and see where we stood."
Poston went on to say that everything went the way that Carter wanted it to go, except for his season-ending injury, of course, and that if he were healthy throughout the playoffs, he could have made a difference in the Super Bowl because of how close the game was.
For more on the Patriots, head to Pats Pulpit, and for more on the Patriots offseason, follow SB Nation Boston's stream.