It was an offseason of transition for quarterback Derek Carr, who shuffled away from the shifting sands of Las Vegas after nine seasons with the Raiders to join the New Orleans Saints. And while he has been fully embraced in the bayou, recent comments from the signal caller now suggest he had a sad sendoff from Sin City.
Despite several seasons of good, sometimes great numbers, Raider Nation seemingly never truly embraced Carr as a ‘franchise’ quarterback. And to be fair, he only won one playoff game during his tenure with the team, and he was marred at times with inconsistency. While talented, skilled, and big-armed, Carr was always considered more on the ‘second-tier’ of pro passers.
2022, his final season as a Raider, was perhaps the most tumultuous of all for Derek Carr. Head Coach Josh McDaniels opted to bench Carr for the remainder of the regular season in favor of Jarrett Stidham. This followed a Week 16 loss Pittsburgh Steelers in which Carr threw three interceptions.
In other words? Carr was basically run out of Vegas like a man with a gambling debt, and he eventually signed a four-year contract with the New Orleans Saints in March. After years of at least attempting to be the face of the franchise, it rubbed the former Fresno State star the wrong way, he told a local reporter over the weekend.
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“I was, for lack of a better term, I was very upset; I was mad,” Carr told the Fresno Bee on Saturday. “You spend nine years in a place, you have all the records and you can play at a high level.”
“And for something to get in the way, whether it was whatever reason, money related or whatever, injury-related, I would have said I don’t even want the money, just to play two more times in front of our fans. I didn’t get that opportunity. So, it definitely lit a fire inside me to keep going.”
Derek Carr also said the situation had an effect on his personal life at the time – causing added stress and pressure on his wife. In his mind, that’s the straw that broke the camel’s back, as far as his days remaining in the desert.
“Once they made my wife cry, that was pretty much over,” Carr said. “Once they made her cry, that was out. But the love for my teammates is what probably would have made me do it. But the way it worked out and the timing of things, I was just … it was time for me to move on. But who knows? You never know what will happen.”
Unfortunately for Derek Carr, he won’t get a shot at revenge right away. The Saints and Raiders will not face each other in the upcoming season. The next time the two teams will meet is in 2024.