Getty Josh McDaniels with Derek Carr.
For a long time, Derek Carr thought he would only ever play for the Las Vegas Raiders. That changed last year when the team decided to bench him following a Week 16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which led to his eventual release in the offseason.
Carr is now with the New Orleans Saints but isn’t harboring any hard feelings against his former team. He revealed that he sent a message to head coach Josh McDaniels following the Raiders’ Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos.
“After the game, I texted Josh McDaniels, ‘Congrats on beating the Broncos, that’s awesome’ … he sent me a nice text back,” Carr said in a September 18 interview with ESPN. “When I left, I had a great conversation with Mark Davis. He knows at some point, I’m going to be coming back. … Once a Raider, always a Raider, they always say that, and I’ll be thankful for that when I’m not a Saint.”
Carr is the all-time leading passer in Raiders franchise history with 35,222 yards and 217 touchdowns. It’s going to be a long time before anybody passes him up in the record books. It’s easy to see Carr being involved with the Raiders whenever he’s done playing for the Saints.
Derek Carr Talks New Orleans Saints Defense
Derek Carr’s start with the Saints hasn’t been great statistically. He has thrown one touchdown and two interceptions in two games. Despite that, the Saints are 2-0 as the defense hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in a game.
The Raiders never had a top-15 defense in Carr’s nine seasons with the teams so having a defense that can win games is a foreign feeling for the quarterback. He had some high praise for the defense following the Week 2 win over the Carolina Panthers.
“That is a very big part of the reason why I came here,” Carr said during his September 18 postgame press conference. “Any team that I talked to was a team with a defense. I played these guys. I knew Dennis Allen. I know what it is like and how difficult it is. All I want to do is win.”
Through two games, the Saints defense is allowing the fourth-fewest yards per game (262.0) and tied for fifth-fewest points allowed (16.0). It’s still early in the season but it’s been a good start for New Orleans.
Derek Carr Wishes He Played Better
Derek Carr is still acclimating to the Saints offense but having a defense he can rely on will make adjusting much easier. He wants to play better but appreciates the defense stepping up in spots where he’s not playing his best football.
“So, I was like, shoot, if I can go there and have a day like today — didn’t play my best in the first half, come back, play good in the second half and win a game? Like, I didn’t have to be perfect for four quarters and we won. That is awesome,” Carr said.
“I don’t like that still. We won, but I am still sick because I should have played better. I can help the offense more. I sit back and I am already analyzing it, right? But to have that defense to hold us, keep us in there until we got clicking in the second half, I mean, it helped us win the football game.”