Despite many in the media acting like Derek Carr’s days with the Raiders are numbered, nobody knows for sure what his future holds except maybe Jon Gruden. There were plenty of rumors heading into the 2019 season about how the team was preparing to move on from the quarterback and they were clearly proven wrong at the end of the day. It’s a year later, and many of the same rumors are starting to come out.
From Tom Brady to Jameis Winston, many analysts and insiders believe Carr won’t be taking snaps for the Raiders in 2020. While it’s gotta be difficult for the quarterback to constantly being bombarded with those kinds of rumors, his brother says he’s taking things in stride.
“I would say that last year, just based on the player he knows that he is, he felt like the whole offseason was frustrating,” David Carr told NBC Sports California last week. “Once again, [the outside narrative] was about whether Jon and Derek could get along together and work through all this stuff. He sees his relationship with Jon Gruden as really good. From a private standpoint, it was frustrating to have all that public [media and social media] banter going on.”
Carr Looking to the Super Bowl
The biggest reason the Raiders could stick with Carr in 2020 is that they didn’t necessarily give him the best wide receivers to work with. The team also had a very lackluster defense. Though the team has struggled the last few seasons, Carr believes the Raiders are a couple of pieces away from getting to the Super Bowl.
“This year, in the small amount of time I’ve talked to him about it in the offseason, he’s over it,” David Carr said. “He’s over it and just trying to get to Las Vegas. He thinks, ‘give me one more piece on offense. [Lets] fix the defense, maybe add a linebacker and some get some other pieces and the Raiders will be in the Super Bowl.’ That’s his mindset. He’s not giving any time, really, to all of that. He went through that last year. He’s not worried about any of that now. He says, ‘Jon and I are great.’ He wants to get the job done. They didn’t get the job done last year. But that’s where his mindset is. Honestly, he’s over it.”
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Gruden & Carr Have ‘Great’ Relationship
By most public accounts, Carr and Gruden seem to get along just fine. Michael Lombardi has reported in the past that there is a “disconnect” between the two men, but there hasn’t been any public evidence of that. Based on what David had to say, it doesn’t seem like Derek is worrying too much about what’s being reported.
“It’s much better to be where he’s at instead of trying to worry about it,” Carr said. “I feel like, last year, he did. He wondered why everyone was saying things. Derek thought he and Jon Gruden got along great. The fact the public narrative was different was frustrating. Now he sees the same thing happening again and he’s just over it. He and Gruden have a great relationship. ‘Just give me some pieces and we’ll do great things.’ That’s where he’s at mentally.”
If Carr survives this offseason, he needs to step up in 2020 if he wants to quiet the chatter once and for all.
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Derek Carr’s Brother Reveals QB’s Feelings About Raiders Rumors