He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, earned All-American honors and won several national awards.

At Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida, Carter was named Miami Sun-Sentinel all-county defensive first-team choice as a senior.

[citation needed] He also received Miami Herald all-county offensive first team honors as a running back, gaining 1,349 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns his senior year.

However, on September 5, 2004, Carter was placed on the Vikings injured reserve list after spraining his knee during the second preseason game, and was expected to be out until October.

On April 14, 2003, Carter signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Jets, where he played for only one season and recorded career highs in tackles (88) and interceptions (2).

On March 1, 2004, he was cut along with longtime Jet linebacker Mo Lewis and safety Sam Garnes in order to free up salary cap space.

When Troy Polamalu was re-injured in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Carter took his place and started at the position for the rest of the season due to the injury.

Tank had originally been scheduled to report to jail on December 8, 2005, but Circuit Judge Stanton S. Kaplan allowed him an extra month to spend the holidays with his family and children.

When he finally turned himself in on February 13, one week after Super Bowl XL, the judge added 54 months to his original 6-month sentence.