Ka'Deem Carey
American football player (born 1992)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ka'Deem Carey (born October 30, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He is the running backs coach for the Toronto Argonauts. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats, twice earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played three seasons with the Bears before joining the Calgary Stampeders, and played one season with the Argonauts in 2024 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2025.
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Carey with the Toronto Argonauts in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Toronto Argonauts | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Running backs coach | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | October 30, 1992 Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Running back (No. 25, 35, 29[1]) | ||||||||||||||
| High school | Canyon del Oro (Oro Valley, Arizona) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Arizona (2011–2013) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2014: 4th round, 117th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Career CFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Early life
Carey attended Canyon del Oro High School in Oro Valley, Arizona. As a junior, he rushed for 2,738 yards on 224 carries with 45 touchdowns. As a senior, he rushed for 1,754 yards with 26 touchdowns.
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ka'Deem Carey RB |
Tucson, AZ | Canyon del Oro | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | 4.6 | Feb 2, 2011 |
Recruit ratings: Scout:  Rivals:  (78) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 55 (RB) Rivals: 13 (RB) ESPN: 33 (RB) | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Carey attended the University of Arizona, where he played for the Arizona Wildcats football team from 2011 to 2013. As a true freshman in 2011, Carey rushed for 425 yards on 91 carries with six touchdowns. In 13 games of his sophomore season in 2012, he rushed for 1,929 yards on 303 carries with 23 touchdowns, which broke the Arizona single-season record for both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.[2] On November 10, 2012, Carey set the Pac-12 Conference record for rushing yards in a game with 366.[3] On December 11, 2012 Carey was named a 2012 consensus All-American at the running back position.[4]
In January 2013, he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence.[5] Charges were dropped in June.[6]
Carey served a one-game suspension to start the 2013 football season.[7] During the season, he set a school record for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.[8] He finished the season with 1,885 yards on 349 carries and 19 touchdowns and was a consensus All-American for the second straight season.[9]
Statistics
Professional career
Pre-draft
On January 13, 2014, Carey announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL draft.[10]
| 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 | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 9+3⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) | 4.70 s | 1.59 s | 2.72 s | 4.38 s | 7.08 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) | 19 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[11][12] | ||||||||||||
Chicago Bears
Carey was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round with the 117th overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft.[13] Carey signed a four-year contract on May 13, 2014.[14] In week 13 of 2015, Carey scored his first career rushing touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers on a four-yard run.[15] On December 27, 2015, Carey recorded his first career receiving touchdown in a 26–21 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[16]
On September 2, 2017, Carey was placed on injured reserve.[17] He was released by the team on September 8, 2017.
Calgary Stampeders
Carey signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in early October 2018, nearing the end of the 2018 CFL season.[18] Carey did not play for the Stampeders in 2018, but was on the roster as the team won the 106th Grey Cup. He was re-signed by the club on January 16, 2019, which prevented him from becoming a free agent the following month.[19] In 2019, Carey started to make an impact on offense and was Calgary's leading rusher by midway through the season.[20] On September 23, 2019, the Stampeders announced that Carey would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken arm.[21] Carey played in eight games for the Stampeders in 2019, carrying the ball 75 times for 422 yards with two touchdowns; he also caught 15 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.
After six years as a member of the Stampeders, which included two divisional All-Star awards and a CFL All-Star award, Carey became a free agent on February 13, 2024.[22]
Toronto Argonauts
On February 14, 2024, it was announced that Carey had signed with the Toronto Argonauts.[23] On June 22, Carey rushed for 104 yards on 19 attempts and a touchdown in a 39–36 win over the Edmonton Elks.[24] He played in all 18 regular season games where he recorded 191 carries for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns along with 37 receptions for 356 yards and one touchdown.[25] For his strong season, he was named a Divisional All-Star for the third time in his career.[26] He also played in all three post-season games, including the 111th Grey Cup where he had 15 rush attempts for 79 yards and a touchdown and three catches for ten yards in the Argonauts 41–24 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[27] He was with the team in training camp in 2025, but was part of the final cuts on June 1, 2025.[28]
Saskatchewan Roughriders
On June 9, 2025, Carey officially signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[29]
He suffered a season-ending knee injury in a game against the BC Lions on July 19, 2025, appearing in just three games for Saskatchewan.[30]
Carey would not return to Saskatchewan the following offseason, instead retiring and beginning his transition from player to coach.[31]
Coaching career
Carey marked the end of his playing career with an announcement he was rejoining the Toronto Argonauts as a running backs coach on January 8, 2026.[32]
Career statistics
NFL
CFL
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2018 | CGY | DNP | |||||||||||
| 2019 | CGY | 8 | 7 | 75 | 422 | 5.6 | 31 | 2 | 15 | 134 | 8.9 | 23 | 1 |
| 2020 | CGY | Season cancelled | |||||||||||
| 2021 | CGY | 13 | 13 | 164 | 869 | 5.3 | 29 | 7 | 26 | 194 | 7.5 | 29 | 0 |
| 2022 | CGY | 14 | 14 | 164 | 1,088 | 6.6 | 40 | 10 | 28 | 248 | 8.9 | 28 | 0 |
| 2023 | CGY | 9 | 9 | 89 | 476 | 5.4 | 19 | 0 | 21 | 156 | 7.4 | 22 | 0 |
| 2024 | TOR | 18 | 17 | 191 | 1,060 | 5.6 | 32 | 7 | 37 | 356 | 9.6 | 27 | 1 |
| 2025 | SSK | 3 | 0 | 9 | 41 | 4.6 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Career | 65 | 60 | 692 | 3,956 | 5.7 | 40 | 26 | 128 | 1,097 | 8.6 | 29 | 2 | |
