Dwaine L. Carpenter (born November 4, 1976) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He was signed as a

street free agent A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like streetlights or benches. A stree ...

by the Buffalo Destroyers in 2002. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the North Carolina A&T Aggies. Carpenter has also played for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

On May 29, 2003, Carpenter signed with the

. Carpenter made his first career start on December 28 when starting

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

Zack Bronson Robert Zach Bronson (born January 28, 1974) is a cornerbacks coach at McNeese State and a former professional American football safety in the National Football League. He played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers his entire NFL career f ...

suffered a neck injury. Throughout the 2004 season, Carpenter competed with Ronnie Heard and Keith Lewis for the final starting

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

job with the 49ers. But after suffering a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury, Carpenter lost out on the competition. However, after Jimmy Williams and Shawntae Spencer went down with injuries, Carpenter was named one of two starting

cornerbacks A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

on November 21. He remained the starter for the rest of the season before going down with a

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

injury in week 16. In 2005, his third with the 49ers, Carpenter was named the starting

. On August 20, 2005, the 49ers dealt with the loss of

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

Thomas Herrion Thomas Lovell Herrion (December 15, 1981 – August 20, 2005) was an American football offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He also was a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL E ...

, Carpenter was one of the only 49ers to speak right after the death saying: After suffering from thigh and foot injuries during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Carpenter was released on September 19. Over his seasons with the 49ers, Carpenter tallied 82 tackles and one interception.

St. Louis Rams

Two months after receiving a workout from the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

on October 25, 2005, Carpenter was signed by the

on December 28, 2005. In St. Louis, Carpenter received little playing time only appearing in 10 games and recording six tackles.

Calgary Stampeders

Carpenter signed with the

on July 13, 2007. He played his first game with Calgary, against

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on July 21. His first

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

tackle came on Kamau Peterson on August 8. He had a career high six tackles, in three different games. In the 2007

CFL West The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. With a few exceptions, a senior men's football championship has been contested in Western Canada since 1911 ...

semifinal game, Carpenter intercepted

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Kerry Joseph for his first interception in the CFL. In 2008, Carpenter appeared in all eighteen games and made 12 starts at outside linebacker. Carpenter had 35 tackles, with 17 coming on special teams. His first career CFL sack, came against Toronto on September 30. In the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

game against the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

, Carpenter had four tackles. After the 2008 season, Carpenter became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

but was re-signed on April 20. Carpenter was released on May 14, 2010.

Toronto Argonauts

On May 26, 2010, Carpenter signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the Canadian Football League. He was later released by the team on June 17, 2010. Carpenter was re-signed on July 5, 2010, when it was believed that safety/linebacker Willie Pile would be out of action with a knuckle injury. However, when Pile was re-diagnosed as being medically cleared to play without missing any games, Carpenter was released the following day by the Argonauts.

References

External links

CFL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Dwaine 1976 births Living people People from Pinehurst, North Carolina American football defensive backs North Carolina A&T Aggies football players San Francisco 49ers players St. Louis Rams players Calgary Stampeders players Buffalo Destroyers players Rochester Brigade players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Elon Phoenix football players