Editing Cris Carter (section)

===Minnesota Vikings===
The Minnesota Vikings claimed the troubled wide receiver off waivers on September 4, 1990, for only $100. Stuck behind [[Hassan Jones]] and resident star receiver, [[Anthony Carter (American football)|Anthony Carter]] (no relation), Carter didn't see very many passes come his way during his first season in Minnesota. He did gain a measure of revenge against his former team, however, catching six passes for 151 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown, in a ''[[Monday Night Football|Monday Night]]'' contest at Philadelphia on October 15. Carter finished the [[1990 NFL season|1990 campaign]] with 27 receptions for 413 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In [[1991 NFL season|1991]], Carter stepped forward as Minnesota's top pass catcher. He led the team with 72 receptions, 962 yards, and 5 touchdown catches. The winds of change were blowing in Minnesota; after a second straight disappointing season head coach [[Jerry Burns]] retired. [[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]] head coach [[Dennis Green]] was named as his replacement on January 10, 1992, and began a house cleaning process. "The New Sheriff in Town" released stalwarts like RB [[Herschel Walker]] and QB [[Wade Wilson (football player)|Wade Wilson]] and traded DT [[Keith Millard]] to the [[Seattle Seahawks]].

The [[1992 Minnesota Vikings season|Vikings]] returned to NFL prominence in [[1992 NFL season|1992]], posting an 11&ndash;5 record and capturing their first NFC Central Division title since 1989. With [[Rich Gannon]] and [[Sean Salisbury]] alternating at QB, Carter remained the team's primary aerial weapon—leading the team with 53 receptions, 681 yards, and 6 touchdowns despite missing the final four games of the season with a broken collar bone. The Vikings season ended in disappointment, however, as the defending Super Bowl champions [[1992 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]] upended them 24&ndash;7 in the Wild Card round.

In [[1993 NFL season|1993]], veteran QB [[Jim McMahon]] acted as the team's primary signal-caller and Carter had a breakout season. He posted career highs in receptions, 86, and yards, 1,071, while catching 9 touchdowns — all team highs, and appeared in his first [[1993 Pro Bowl|Pro Bowl]]. The [[1993 Minnesota Vikings season|Vikings]] finished the season 9&ndash;7, good enough for a playoff berth, but fell 17–10 to the [[1993 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] in the Wild Card round. 
 
Veteran quarterback [[Warren Moon]] was acquired before the [[1994 NFL season|1994 season]] and immediately developed a rapport with Carter. The veteran helped Carter set the NFL single-season record for receptions with 122 (the record was broken in 1995 by Detroit's [[Herman Moore]]). Carter also led the team with 1,256 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns, which earned him First-team All Pro honors. Moon and Carter carried the [[1994 Minnesota Vikings season|team]] to a 10–6 record and the NFC Central title, but couldn't stop the Vikings from a third straight first-round playoff exit — a 35–18 home loss to the [[1994 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]].

Carter teamed up with Moon in 1995 to post his finest statistical season. He caught 122 passes for a career-high 1,371 yards and led the NFL with 17 touchdown receptions. Carter received Second-team All Pro honors for his efforts. The Vikings, however, finished 8–8 and missed the playoffs for the first time under Green.

Midway through the 1996 season [[Brad Johnson (American football)|Brad Johnson]] took over at QB for the Vikings. Carter didn't miss a beat, catching 96 passes for 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Vikings returned to the playoffs with a 9&ndash;7 record, but were routed by the [[Dallas Cowboys]] 40–15 in the Wild Card round. Carter appeared in his fourth straight Pro Bowl following the season.

Carter continued to be the focal point of the Vikings' offense in 1997. He was named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl, leading the NFL with 13 touchdown receptions while pacing the team with 89 catches and 1069 yards. Even though he had more impressive seasons statistically, 1997 may have been Carter's finest hour, as week after week he dazzled with one spectacular catch after another. With [[Randall Cunningham]] at QB (he replaced the injured Johnson late in the season) the Vikings finally broke through in the playoffs, defeating the Giants 23–22 in a last-minute miracle comeback. The playoff success was fleeting, however, as the team fell to the [[San Francisco 49ers]] 38–22 the following week.

[[File:Cris Carter HOF jersey.jpg|thumb|270px|Cris Carter jersey shown at Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio]]
In 1998 the Vikings drafted [[Marshall Thundering Herd football|Marshall]] wide receiver [[Randy Moss]] with 21st pick in the first round. Suddenly, the Vikings possessed the NFL's most dangerous weapon. They cruised through the regular season, posting a 15–1 record while scoring a then-league record 556 points. Carter, who made the Pro Bowl for the fifth time, caught 78 passes for 1,011 yards and 12 touchdowns. Led by Moss, Carter, and [[Miller Lite]] Player of the Year Randall Cunningham, the Vikings entered the playoffs as heavy favorites to reach the Super Bowl. They easily defeated the [[Arizona Cardinals]] 41–21 in the Divisional Round, advancing to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1987. The Vikings entered [[1998 NFC Championship Game|that game]] as 13 and a half point favorites over the [[Atlanta Falcons]], but lost in overtime 30–27 to become the biggest favorite to ever lose a home playoff game. Carter later said losing that game was the lone regret of his time in Minnesota, and that he didn't even know if he wanted to play anymore afterwards.

The following year, Carter had his finest individual season since 1995— the First-team All Pro caught 90 passes for 1,241 yards and an NFL-best 13 touchdowns. The Vikings easily defeated the Dallas Cowboys 27–10 in the Wild Card round and headed to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] to face the NFL's [[The Greatest Show on Turf|new hottest offense]]. Minnesota led the eventual [[Super Bowl]] champions 17&ndash;14 at the half, but a second-half flurry led to a 49–37 Rams win.

Carter finished the decade of the '90s with 835 receptions, second only to [[Jerry Rice]]'s 860, and was named to the NFL's All Decade team.

In 2000, led by [[Daunte Culpepper]], the Vikings won the NFC Central division, and Carter finished the season with 96 receptions, 1,274 yards, 9 touchdowns, and an eighth Pro Bowl.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cris Carter 2000 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CartCr00/gamelog/2000/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> On November 30, Carter became only the second player in NFL history to reach the 1,000 reception plateau when he caught a 4-yard touchdown pass against Detroit.

In 2001, the Vikings floundered with a record of 5–11, their first losing season since 1990. Carter's production dipped to its lowest point since 1992 (mostly because of QB [[Spergon Wynn]]'s ineffectiveness in the last three games) — 73 catches, 871 yards, 6 touchdowns — and his streak of eight straight Pro Bowls came to an end.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cris Carter 2001 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CartCr00/gamelog/2001/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Following the season, the longest-tenured Viking exercised an out clause in his contract that ended his career in Minnesota.

Cris Carter left the Vikings as their all-time leader in, among other things, receptions (1,004), receiving yards (12,383), and touchdowns (110).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/min/2001.htm |title=2001 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players |publisher=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=August 7, 2013}}</ref>