FRISCO, TX — Caelen Carson will soon be pulled from the frying pan and tossed right into the fire by the Dallas Cowboys when he takes the field against the Cleveland Browns as a starter in the wake of DaRon Bland's foot injury. Carson will go from being a rookie fifth-round pick to tasked with helping to stop Deshaun Watson and Amari Cooper, amongst others.
But for everyone making it a big deal, the Wake Forest product is doing the exact opposite.
"They bleed like we bleed," he said from his first-ever training camp in Oxnard.
To Carson, it's still just football.
"I'm more than prepared," said the level-headed 22-year-old cornerback. "I wouldn't say that I expected it, but I'm ready. … If you make it bigger than what it is, then it's gonna be a big moment for you. It's gonna be [like] any other game. I've been playing football all my life, so I feel like nothing changes.
"It's just more people and you're on television but, at the end of the day, I've been doing it since I was five years old."
Carson also has reason to be confident, seeing as he's not only coming off of a stellar training camp and preseason, but also in the fact he's been in a similar situation previously — when he didn't expect to be named starter as a freshman for the Demon Deacons before they decided he was indeed ready for the task.
And then came the moniker "Seat Belt", a nickname earned during that very season, and one that's already followed him to his Cowboys' uniform.
Speaking of uniforms, Carson also made headlines over the past several days by approaching the Cowboys to request they change his jersey from No. 41 to No. 21 ahead of the 2024 season though, as he explained, it's not tied to Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders.
"To me, I don't wanna get into all of that but, for me, it's just a better [fit]," he said. "I don't wanna make it more than what it is. … [No.] 41 was a little heavy on me. [I feel] a little lighter now."
With his new number in tow, and a CB2 seat opposite First-Team All-Pro Trevon Diggs to begin the season, Carson may not be allowing the moment to mushroom on him, but that doesn't mean the Maryland native isn't excited for what's to come.
After all, he's been working his entire life for this very moment.
"It's the opportunity of a lifetime," he said. "You wait for this moment as a child, and it just happens to be my first game. I greatly appreciate it and I'm blessed to be in this position."
That ding you're probably hearing is the Seat Belt warning light.
