Getty Derek Carr with family.
For the first time in his 10-year career, Derek Carr is not with the Las Vegas Raiders at the start of training camp. The veteran quarterback joined the New Orleans Saints this offseason after being unceremoniously released by the team that drafted him in 2014.
However, his family is still adjusting to the change. Carr has a two-year-old daughter named Brooklyn and she doesn’t quite understand where the quarterback is playing. Carr revealed in his July 26 press conference that he brought Brooklyn to a practice where she shouted, “Touchdown, Raiders.”
Carr quickly had to nip that in the bud as he is still trying to embrace his new team.
“I was like, ‘Noooo, you can’t do that anymore. … This is my home now.’ I’m going to give New Orleans everything I have,” Carr said.
After spending such a long time with one team, there was bound to be an adjustment period for the whole family.
Derek Carr Excited to Compete
Derek Carr is entering the 2023 season with a chip on his shoulder. The team that he gave nine years of his career to benched him during last season and then cut him outright. He can prove a lot this year if he can get the Saints to the playoffs.
For his part, Carr is just happy to get back to playing football as he learns his new team.
“I just want to compete now,” Carr said. “I feel, it’s not a new language now. It’s my language, it’s our language. So I’m just trying to be that leader, be that quarterback position that they can look to me when they’re tired, they can look to me when it’s hard – even if I screw it up, they can still look to me.
“Just build that comradery and that leadership within our team, to know that trust and respect is mutual with everybody. And compete. That’s what we’re here to do – we’re here to compete, we’re here to beat the defense every day, until we get to play somebody else. And hopefully they don’t get us, but if they do, we come back the next day (and) we get them again. Just that mentality to not stop, is really probably the main goal for all of us as an offense. And reps together. The more reps that we can get with everybody in that huddle, the better I think that we can be.”
How quickly Derek Carr can get on the same page as his receivers will be a big story of the #Saints offseason in a lot of ways.
Appreciated this moment with Carr and Rashid Shaheed. Route wasn’t what he wanted. Carr gave 22 a note and had him run it again. Details matter.
Derek Carr Discusses First Day of Training Camp
Things are bound to be sloppy at the start of training camp. Players haven’t practiced together for weeks. With a new quarterback at the helm, there are bound to be some growing pains for the Saints. Luckily, things are off to a strong start in New Orleans, according to Derek Carr.
“Good start,” Carr said. “Meetings were great last night, everybody was out there so that was fun. OTAs and minicamp, we didn’t have the full arsenal of everybody but having everybody out there today, seeing them in the huddle, getting reps with them, throwing them the ball, calling plays with the O-line, felt good to have that group and hopefully we can just build on it.”