ESPN said late today it was parting ways with longtime football analyst Sean Salisbury. The surprise announcement came only hours after the network announced its hiring of Cris Carter from HBO's "Inside the NFL."

"Sean Salisbury has made many contributions to our efforts for the past 12 years. We thank him and wish him all the best," said ESPN spokesman Bill Hofheimer.

Salisbury said in a statement that he had "grown as much as I can at ESPN" and that he decided to expand his horizons with new opportunities in TV, radio, Internet, publishing, movies and public speaking. "My resume speaks for itself as a football analyst, and I believe I can talk all sports with the best of them."

Networks frequently shuffle their lineups in the offseason. Salisbury's contract with ESPN was up, according to his agent Steve Mandell. "Sean is looking forward to the next phase of his career."

Earlier in the day, ESPN announced Carter had joined the network as a TV and radio analyst. Carter was a plain-spoken TV presence on "Inside the NFL." Unlike some league officials, he didn't seem eager to sweep the New England Patriots videotaping scandal under the rug. Carter says there's still major questions that "need to be answered" about the controversy and that many people aren't satisfied with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of the issue. "The Patriots are a modern-day dynasty. If they created an advantage (for themselves), it needs to be looked into."

Carter will miss his old "Inside the NFL" crew of Bob Costas, Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Sports Illustrated's Peter King. But he said he's looking forward to working with ESPN analysts such as Tom Jackson.

"We thought it was the best show out there. Unfortunately, they're not going to bring it back. So for me, this is an opportunity with the worldwide leader," Carter says.