In all likelihood, Derek Carr has quarterbacked his last game for the Las Vegas Raiders. He was benched for the remainder of the season following the team’s Week 16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Eve. Carr and the Raiders have agreed that he should not even be with the team for the remainder of the season. While Carr has remained silent on the matter, at least publicly, his brother has not.
David Carr, himself a former NFL quarterback and the No. 1 pick of the Houston Texans in 2002, shared (H/T Levi Damien, USA Today) his feelings on Derek’s situation with his — in all likelihood — soon-to-be former team.
“He was fully invested (in the Raiders)… was he appreciated, no…it wasn’t Derek that changed, it was the #Raiders that changed…he’s going to look for teams that have a stable situation. Stable…I’m excited for my brother’s future…I’m a little upset.”
David Carr on Derek "He was fully invested (in the Raiders)… was he appreciated, no…it wasn't Derek that changed, it was the #Raiders that changed…he's going to look for teams that have a stable situation. Stable…I'm excited for my brother's future…I'm a little upset."
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) January 3, 2023
Carr’s comments drew mixed reactions.
There’s an undeniable truth to what Carr said. Since losing the Super Bowl after the 2002 season, the Raiders have had 10 different head coaches, which doesn’t include the interim stints of Tony Sparano in 2014 or Rich Bisaccia in 2021. In that 20-year period, the Raiders have had two playoff appearances (2016 and 2021) and no playoff wins. Outside of those two seasons, the .500 seasons in 2010 and 2011 have been the high watermark.
Carr also had to deal with the team’s unstable home situation, which hung over the team’s final few seasons in Oakland and wasn’t settled until the move to Las Vegas in 2020.
So, it’s not exactly an organization that can claim stability, something one fan noted.
“Well…to David’s credit, the #Raiders have not been stable….like at all.”
https://twitter.com/united_raiders/status/1610080460163649536
But there’s another part of that equation. While Carr has given the Raiders stability at the quarterback position for nearly a decade, he hasn’t always been productive. That was not lost either.
“Okay, JM definitely threw Carr under the bus but to say he wasn’t appreciated is wild,” one fan said. “He got a huge pay day and was a mid QB with no playoff wins. Big Bro saying things like this publicly is so cringe.”
The Raider Ramble contributor Jake Hamilton agreed. He tweeted “I mean… technically.. the raiders invested a lot of $$$$ into carr for 2 playoff losses in 9 years. All his fault? Nah. But he got Davante Adams… He has been bad this year. Stidham off the bench, had the best performance of the year… against the best defense in the league.”
Okay, JM definitely threw Carr under the bus but to say he wasn’t appreciated is wild. He got a huge pay day and was a mid QB with no playoff wins.
Big Bro saying things like this publicly is so cringe. https://t.co/zSHXqKFCM8
— kyla (@kylaer_) January 3, 2023
https://twitter.com/JakeeHamilton/status/1610080928579084289
Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, meanwhile, detailed Carr’s struggles in 2022.
“Derek Carr also had his lowest completion percentage and passer rating since his rookie season w/ the #Raiders, his lowest yards/att since 2017 and the highest INT rate of his career.”
Derek Carr also had his lowest completion percentage and passer rating since his rookie season w/ the #Raiders, his lowest yards/att since 2017 and the highest INT rate of his career. https://t.co/RgiaeuDMt7
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 3, 2023
It’s a little easier to look at the Raiders part of this equation. They were a terrible franchise for more than a decade before Carr’s arrival. He helped make things a little better.
But the bright moments were generally followed by regressions. So, Carr has had a lot to do with the team’s struggles.
In the end, Carr probably deserved a smoother exit. Still, the two sides going their separate ways after the season ends seems like the best solution for all parties involved.
[Levi Damien on Twitter]
