Things didn’t end well between the Las Vegas Raiders and Derek Carr after his nine-year run with the franchise. It was clear he wasn’t too happy with the team that he is the all-time leading passer for.
However, the decision-makers who moved on from Carr are no longer in Las Vegas. Head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were the ones leading the charge to make a change at quarterback, but both were fired less than a year after cutting Carr.
The quarterback doesn’t harbor any ill will toward the Raiders and actually still holds a lot of love for them. Carr is technically retired and retired as a member of the New Orleans Saints, but there was talk of him returning to football this year. No team has signed him yet, and he recently agreed to be an assistant coach for the UCLA football program.
That doesn’t mean he’s officially done playing football, but it’s not likely. Even if he’s done suiting up, he is still hoping he can retire as a Raider.
“I sure hope so, man,” Carr said on the “Home Grown” podcast when asked if he thinks he’ll retire as a Raider one day. “I would love to come back and do that.”
The Saints would have to let him out of his contract, but it’s hard to imagine they’d block him from signing a one-day contract with the Raiders in order to properly retire. For now, it sounds like he’s still leaving the door cracked for a possible return to football.
Fernando Mendoza Doesn’t Want to Fail
The Raiders have been a mess at quarterback since letting go of Carr. In the three seasons since he was cut, the team has had three different starting quarterbacks in each Week 1.
The Raiders were able to land Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick, so the hope is that he’ll be the long-term replacement for Carr. The rookie recently spoke with The Athletic’s Mike Silver and opened up about how he’s working very hard to ensure that he doesn’t disappoint the team.
“The system that got me here, it’s a grinder system,” Mendoza told Silver. “It’s a system where I know I put a lot into it, and best-case (scenario), boom, it’s letting me have success already. And let’s say worst-worst-worst-case scenario, it doesn’t go my way, or it doesn’t go the team’s way. Then I can rest my head at night knowing I did everything I possibly (could). … I best served my teammates, I prepared, and I didn’t let them down.”
Mendoza Not Enjoying Vegas Nightlife Yet
The city of Las Vegas has been known to bring out the worst in young people. However, what the city has to offer isn’t that appealing to Mendoza. He’s mostly been keeping to himself since moving to Sin City.
“Las Vegas is one of the entertainment capitals of the world,” Mendoza told Silver. “But I have a job to do, and it’s football. I don’t have anybody that really relies on me, if that makes sense, so I can just be psycho about football. And then every once in a while, on an off day or night, I can go out to a movie and watch ‘Spiderman’ or ‘The Odyssey’ or something.
“In Vegas, there is a lot to do, and sometimes it can be seen as activities that wouldn’t be supporting a healthy football lifestyle. But there are different things that you can go see and do that aren’t degenerative activities, per se. There are some great restaurants. But I’m probably not going to be playing blackjack till late at night.”
Derek Carr Addresses Raiders Future After Landing Coaching Job