How a Baltimore student became the NFL’s go-to rug maker
Credit to Author: Anthony Gharib| Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2025 15:41:50 EST
The Baltimore Ravens were coasting.
They garnered over 500 yards while holding the Seattle Seahawks to just 151, dominating for a 37-3 win in November 2023. Lamar Jackson outgained Seattle himself, accounting for 247 yards as he embarked on another MVP-winning season.
Baltimore had found a groove. The win marked the Ravens’ fourth straight, strengthening their case as a Super Bowl contender.
As Jackson roamed the sideline, something in the crowd piqued his interest.
Hours earlier, Ravens equipment manager Jordan Brown had been approached by Gordon Cartnail, a Ravens fan, with a custom rug for Jackson. Handmade using acrylic yarn, it depicted Jackson in a throwing motion. Cartnail made it with the intention of giving it to the Ravens quarterback at a game and told Brown about it.
“He’s my favorite player in the NFL. Favorite athlete of all time, basically,” Cartnail told ESPN.
Brown grabbed Jackson and pointed out Cartnail, who stood grinning ear to ear in the stands while proudly boasting the rug. Brown explained that Cartnail was going to give it to him, but before Brown could finish his sentence, Jackson interrupted.
“I want that,” he said. “Tell his ass. I want that damn carpet.”
And Jackson got that damn carpet. Brown grabbed it for the two-time MVP, who found Cartnail after the game, dapped him up, signed his jersey and thanked him.
NFL Films posted the entire sideline exchange of Jackson spotting the rug and it quickly went viral on social media. The jubilation in the quarterback’s reaction is exactly why Cartnail knits.
The Houston Texans flew Cartnail out to NRG Stadium to deliver a rug for C.J. Stroud, who stopped in his tracks to acknowledge the work.
“The Texans DMed me on Instagram from the actual Texans page themselves,” he recalled. “They said they wanted to do C.J., so I sent them a couple of ideas. We agreed on a photo, and then I made the rug. They flew me out, I met them at the game, talked to them on the sideline, and yeah — it was just completely crazy. That was my first time ever being on a plane and everything. It was amazing.”
Houston flew Cartnail out on his birthday to deliver the rug during its wild-card game against the Cleveland Browns last season.
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