The Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr will be parting ways at some point this offseason. It’s simply a matter of when, not if.
The Raiders benched him for the final two games of the 2022 season, and Carr bid Raiders fans bid farewell in a social media post. The only questions left are a) who will replace Carr in Sin City, and b) where will the 31-year-old end up in 2023?
A year ago, it was practically impossible to envision this happening. Last offseason, the Raiders handed Carr a three-year, $121.5 million extension and traded for his former Fresno State teammate and close friend in Davante Adams.
So, how did the breakup between Carr and the Raiders come to be? Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. of Raider Maven from FanNation detailed a deteriorating relationship between Carr and head coach Josh McDaniels.
Here are some of the interesting noted that Carpenter Sr. shared in his report:
- -Carpenter Sr. quoted one Raiders player as saying, “I had never heard Derek spoken to like Josh did. He didn’t drop F-bombs, or ridicule him, but film sessions with Josh are brutal.”
- -A team member also told Carpenter Sr., “He (Carr) has never had his mail read in front of the entire team like that.”
- -Another player told Carpenter Sr., “Josh sees a standard, and you have to meet that standard every second to win the trophy. I believe Derek saw it as constant negativity…Derek was all in but I think he felt like the fun was being sucked out of the team. No one outworked Derek, but McDaniels was relentless. McDaniels has a Super Bowl or bust mentality, and Derek had nine years of this.”
- -A close friend of Carr’s told Carpenter Sr., “Looking back, I do not think Josh was too hard on Derek; I don’t think he had taken such blunt force criticism in front of the team like that, and I think he was hurt.”
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One year after unexpectedly leading the Raiders to a wild card berth, Carr regressed mightily in 2022. He won just six of his 15 starts and completed 60.8 percent of his pass attempts for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Carr is the Raiders’ all-time leader in passing yards (35,222) and touchdowns passes (217).
