Derek Carr seems to be rumored to be traded every year, and this year is no different. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback spoke about his future with the team with reporters and made it clear he is a Raider for life.
“I’d probably quit football if I had to play for somebody else,” Carr said on Tuesday following Raiders minicamp practice, per ESPN. “I am a Raider for my entire life. I’m going to root for one team for the rest of my life – it’s the Raiders. So, I just feel that so strong in my heart I don’t need a perfect situation … to make things right. I’d rather go down with the ship, you know what I’m saying, if I have to.”
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This was brought up based on what’s going on in the NFL this offseason when it comes to quarterbacks. Notably, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans have expressed their frustrations, and both could be traded before the start of the season. Additionally, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford were traded, and Carson Wentz, who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, is now playing for the Indianapolis Colts via trade.
“I’m that old-school mentality — I’m playing for one team and that’s it,” Carr said when asked why hasn’t he spoken out about certain issues. “Whether we’ve won enough or not, I literally give every bit of energy and effort that I can to this organization and when I sign a contract, I completely, in my mind, have to fulfill that. I committed to that. I put my name on paper.”
In 2017, Carr signed a five-year, contract extension worth $125 million. That made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at the time, but that changed when other franchise quarterbacks signed extensions over the last few years. And while Carr has been criticized for his play and not winning a playoff game, he has been good quarterback since coming into the league in 2014. In the Raiders’ first season in Las Vegas, Carr threw for a career-high 4,103 yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also posted a passer rating of 101.4, which is also a career-high. However, due to other weaknesses on the roster, the Raiders finished the 2020 season with an 8-8 record.
