ASHBURN — Derek Carrier had completed practice with the San Francisco 49ers on Friday and was working out in the team’s facility when he was told that he had been traded to the Washington Redskins.
The transaction was nothing new for Carrier, who is joining his fourth team in four years and is Washington’s latest tight end acquisition.
“Being in this position before, switching teams, it’s nothing new,” Carrier said Sunday following his first practice with the Redskins. “It’s something I’m used to, and I know how to attack it and go about my business once I get here.”
Carrier played in 11 games for the 49ers last year, when he caught nine passes for 105 yards. The 6-foot-4, 241-pound tight end attended Beloit, a Division III college, and after going undrafted in 2012, he joined the Oakland Raiders for training camp.
He then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, lasting the season on the practice squad, and joined the 49ers’ practice squad in 2013. He was signed to the active roster late in the season, then stuck with the team through the offseason and into last year.
“I wish we would have had him a little earlier [in training camp], but we’ll get him going,” coach Jay Gruden said. “We still have a couple weeks left to get him going and see if he’ll be ready for Miami, but we’re excited about the prospect of him coming in and competing right away.”
Carrier is the third tight end the Redskins have acquired in the last two weeks, joining D.J. Williams and Ernst Brun Jr. Washington lost two starters, Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen, to season-ending injuries, and Jordan Reed has not yet played a preseason game because of a strained hamstring.
Carrier thought he was having a productive camp with the 49ers, which he believes could be a reason why he was traded. He caught a cross-country flight on Saturday, then worked with the third-team offense during team drills on Sunday.
“I met with coaches there — met with the head coach, the GM, my position coach — and went from there,” Carrier said. “I just got my things packed and got ready to come out here.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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