DELISTED defender Sam Rowe is open to continuing his career after being let go by Carlton.

Rowe finished his time at the Blues on 99 games in a career interrupted by testicular cancer and a knee reconstruction.

"We'll see if there are any opportunities at other AFL clubs, so I'll be open to having a conversation if there are opportunities," Rowe told Melbourne radio station SEN.

Whether the 30-year-old was going to receive another contract at Carlton depended on how many list spots were available following the NAB AFL Trade Period, and he was told the unfortunate news on Thursday morning.

"It's disappointing because I've loved playing at Carlton and I thought I had a bit of footy left in me, but I think you have to move on pretty quickly, because I've been around the place long enough to realise footy is a business and they make tough decisions," Rowe said.

He was realistic about the situation.

"They're going to go in a different direction. I think they need to clear some spots," Rowe said.

"They didn't say exactly who they were after, but it sounds like they're trying to get another couple of people through the door.

"They're going to back in the people they've got on the list, in the position of mine."

He saw improvement for Carlton in the years ahead, despite finishing 2018 with just two wins.

"There has been a lot of change over the last few years and that's by design … I think that the wheel is going to start to turn at the Blues," Rowe said.

"We've just had such a young list. You get some real flashes of brilliance from the young guys.

"It does take time to build consistency in your game, so I think we're just coming to a point where, hopefully, the group of young guys, which is about three-quarters of our team these days, should start to build some good consistency in their game."