Alex Carter will get quite the birthday gift next week.
Carter, the Detroit Lions' third-round NFL draft pick, said he has been cleared to resume practicing Monday, his 21st birthday, after spending the first six weeks of the regular season on injured reserve-designated for return with a bone bruise in his ankle.
"I'm ready to go," Carter said.
Carter missed most of training camp after suffering a high ankle sprain in seven-on-seven drills the day after rookies reported.
He returned briefly to the practice field in the middle of August, but pain in the ankle sidelined him again, and the Lions used their only short-term IR designation on Carter when they set their initial 53-man roster.