Getty New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr.
For much of his career, Derek Carr didn’t think he’d be wearing any colors other than silver and black. He spent nine years with the Las Vegas Raiders and stated that he only wanted to play for one team. That was until he was benched during the 2022 season and eventually released.
Carr landed with the New Orleans Saints and is hoping to rejuvenate his career after a tough nine years with the Raiders. Many fans didn’t expect to ever see the quarterback in another uniform but it has finally happened. The Saints dropped the first look at Carr in uniform at practice.
Carr still has a lot of fans among Raider Nation so it’s going to be odd to see him in a new uniform. They’ll have to get used to it because he’ll be playing a lot of games in New Orleans going forward.
Carr Is Feeling Rejuvenated
Carr was never going to admit this when he was with the Raiders but things were growing stagnant. After nine years with the team, they went to playoffs twice and didn’t get a single playoff win. A lot of that is due to the Raiders’ inability to field a competitive roster consistently. Carr also cycled through many coaches during his nine years.
The Saints are a franchise that has had more success in recent years but had a hard time replacing Drew Brees at quarterback. Carr isn’t on the level of Brees but he’s an upgrade over their previous situation. Carr is excited about the opportunity to play for a new team despite always saying he wanted to spend his whole career with the Raiders.
“This organization, the family dynamic, the togetherness that they build every single day that you see from the top down, that’s special,” Carr said, via neworleanssaints.com. “That doesn’t just happen overnight. That’s years of work. So the foundation and the culture is already laid, I’ve just got to come in and be me. I’ve just been a fly on the wall, being encouraging and being a leader and doing those things when I need to be and saying something when I need to say something. But I’ve honestly enjoyed my time just getting to be me again. I think being in this building has rejuvenated me. It’s been a breath of fresh air for me. I never wanted to leave Las Vegas, but when I walked into this building after the last couple of months, I’m like, man, I’m glad I’m here.”
Carr Wants to Win
While Carr owns every major passing record for the Raiders, he didn’t win nearly as many games as he would’ve liked. He left the team with a 63-79 record. Carr didn’t do enough to elevate the team but it’s not also entirely his fault the team has struggled so much. The Saints have proven they can win with a proven quarterback over the past two decades so there’s no excuse for Carr not to have success. He’s ready to start winning some games.
“I downplay a lot of things,” Carr said. “But I came here for one reason and one reason alone. That’s to win.”