Carl Allen Granderson (born December 18, 1996) is an American professional football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Wyoming Cowboys, he was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
 Granderson with the New Orleans Saints in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 96 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | December 18, 1996 Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 261 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Grant Union (Sacramento, California) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Wyoming (2015–2018) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2019: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2025 | |||||||||||||||
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Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+3⁄4 in (1.95 m) | 254 lb (115 kg) | 34 in (0.86 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 9+7⁄8 in (2.08 m) | 4.79 s | 1.71 s | 2.80 s | 4.41 s | 7.44 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | |
| All values from NFL Combine[1][2] | ||||||||||||
Granderson signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL draft on May 10, 2019.[3] He received a $15,000 signing bonus and a base salary guarantee of $70,000.[4] Granderson was placed on the reserve/did not report list on July 18, while serving his prison sentence.[5] He was reinstated from the "did not report" list and given a roster exemption on August 31, after his release from jail.[6] Granderson was placed on the active roster on September 16.[7]
On March 10, 2022, Granderson signed a two-year contract extension with the Saints.[8] He played in 16 games with four starts in 2022, recording 53 tackles and 5.5 sacks, good for fourth on the team.
On September 23, 2023, Granderson signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Saints.[9]
In 2025, Granderson transitioned from a full-time starter into a rotational role for New Orleans. He appeared in all 17 of the team's games (including six starts, recording four pass deflections, six sacks, and 57 combined tackles. In the Saints' season finale against the Atlanta Falcons, Granderson recorded his first career interception on a Kirk Cousins pass intended for Kyle Pitts.[10]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2019 | NO | 8 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 2020 | NO | 15 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 2021 | NO | 15 | 3 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 3.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 2022 | NO | 16 | 4 | 53 | 30 | 23 | 5.5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 2023 | NO | 17 | 17 | 78 | 44 | 34 | 8.5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 2024 | NO | 17 | 17 | 61 | 36 | 25 | 5.5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| 2025 | NO | 17 | 6 | 57 | 35 | 22 | 6.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Career | 105 | 47 | 299 | 175 | 124 | 34.5 | 53 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
Postseason
editPersonal life
editGranderson was sentenced to six months in prison on July 11, 2019, after pleading no contest to sexual battery and unlawful contact from an incident in 2018 involving two women.[11] After 43 days in jail, on August 26, a judge suspended his jail sentence and sentenced him to one year of supervised probation instead.[12]
References
edit- ↑ Zierlein, Lance. "Carl Granderson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ↑ "Carl Granderson, Wyoming, DE, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ↑ "Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 10, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ↑ Katzenstein, Josh (April 29, 2019). "Saints give signing bonuses to at least 9 undrafted rookies". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ↑ Teope, Herbie (July 18, 2019). "After jail sentence, Carl Granderson designated 'did not report' as Saints' rookies show up for camp". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ↑ "New Orleans Saints make roster reductions to 53". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 31, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ↑ Sigler, John (September 17, 2019). "Saints promote rookie DE Carl Granderson to 53-man roster". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ↑ Simmons, Myles (March 10, 2022). "Saints signed ERFA Carl Granderson to two-year deal". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ↑ "Saints, Carl Granderson agree to four-year extension". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. September 23, 2023.
- ↑ "WATCH: Carl Granderson's must-see INT keeps Falcons out of end zone". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Saints' Carl Granderson sentenced to six months in jail". NFL.com. July 11, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ↑ Sigler, John (August 27, 2019). "Saints rookie Carl Granderson released from jail after sexual battery sentence is changed". Saints Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 2, 2019.