Jerome Carvin heading to Kansas City as a free agent
Jerome Carvin, who went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, has agreed to a deal as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs. Carvin will join former Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith in camp as Carvin tries to earn his way on an NFL roster.
Carvin started all 13 games each of the past two seasons for Josh Heupel’s fast-paced offensive, mostly at left guard – though he filled in five games at center in 2021. Carvin did not allow a regular-season sack in each of the past two seasons. In total, the offensive lineman made 42 career starts and logged nearly 2,800 snaps on the interior of the Tennessee offensive line each of the past five campaigns.
Carvin played in all 12 games as a freshman in 2018, making six starts. He started the final seven games of the 2019 campaign where the Vols finished 6-1 down the stretch and battled through injuries to play in 10 games with four starts in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
According to Tennessee Sports Information, no position player in UT history has played in more games than Carvin’s 60 throughout his Volunteer career.
Carvin was selected at No. 43 overall in the USFL College Draft in February. In meetings with franchises during the NFL Draft process, talk of Carvin’s versatility was the emphasis.
“That’s probably the main thing every team I’ve talked to has brought up about me – you draft me, you get three positions in one,” Carvin told Volquest earlier this month. “It’s huge because, how the NFL works, there’s only 53 players active on a roster and I want to say only seven offensive linemen travel for a game and dress out for a game. You’ve got your five starters and the other few guys have to be able to play multiple positions because you never know what might happen in the game.
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“For me, it’s the most important thing I have to prepare for – as well as showcase what I can do and honestly probably the biggest thing I can do – is showcase my versatility and ability to play all three positions without drop off.”
Carvin was a three-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle out of Cordova High School in Cordova, Tenn. He was ranked No. 395 overall nationally in the On3 Industry Rankings. He was the No. 25 overall inside offensive lineman in his class and ranked No. 11 overall in the state of Tennessee.
“These guys have put so much work into it,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Thursday during an appearance on Ramon, Kayla and Will on 104.5-FM The Zone in Nashville. “You just think back to when I got here and what they’ve done for Tennessee football, flipping the culture, obviously flipping the trajectory.
“Now you get a chance to see them on the backend of their process as they prepare for the next step. These guys have handled it extremely well and cannot wait for the weekend, for tonight for some of our guys. There is nothing better than seeing kids realize their childhood dreams. It’s pretty cool.”
