Cris Carter May Be Out at Fox's FS1 Over "Thursday Night Football" Role

According to multiple reports, Fox broadcaster Cris Carter’s leave of absence from FS1’s First Things First morning show could turn into a permanent vacation from the network.

Carter has missed the last three episodes of show and is reportedly upset about Fox’s decision to exclude him from its Thursday Night Football coverage and instead go with less-proven talent like Tony Gonzalez and Rob Gronkowski.

“Despite being listed as an ‘NFL analyst’ on his network bio, Carter has been missing in action on Fox’s Thursday Night Football coverage, as well as on the network’s top-rated Fox NFL Sunday pregame show, with Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Strahan, Howie Long and Curt Menefee,” according to Front Office Sports.

The leave of absence, which was characterized as a suspension by The Big Lead, comes after a “blow-up” between Carter and his bosses at FS1 over his lack of a Thursday Night Football role.

“I was told it was bad,” a source told Front Office Sports.

The pro football Hall of Famer co-hosts First Things First with Nick Wright and Jenna Wolfe. Neither has addressed Carter’s absence from the show Chris Canty, who won the Super Bowl as a member of the New York Giants has been filling in for Carter.

First Things First launched on FS1 in 2017.

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”