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Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have an extra layer of intrigue for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Almost all of the offseason, rumors swirled around that the team was going to have an interest in signing future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. While the rumors got very hot for a while, Brady himself said that he didn’t think the Raiders were really that interested.
So far this year, Carr has outplayed Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes in their matchups. Outplaying Brady would be a huge statement for the quarterback. While there’s got to be some extra motivation, Carr won’t admit that he thinks about the rumors.
“I really just don’t care,” Carr said. “I’m just doing my job, man. I’ve spent too many hours caring about that stuff, trying to prove the facts and those kinds of things. I just don’t care anymore. I’m here to do my job at the highest level I can possibly give to this team. … I feel like we are at a good place right now, but coming off the bye week we’ve got to make sure we’re not sluggish.”
In the past, rumors and speculation have clearly irked Carr. It’s a good sign that he’s moved on and is playing well.
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Carr Laments ‘Weird’ Situation for Raiders
After coming off of their biggest win of the season, things aren’t looking particularly great for the Raiders. Trent Brown tested positive for COVID-19 and came into contact with the entire starting offensive line and Johnathan Abram. Because of that, none of them have been able to practice. Brown and Abram have already been ruled out but the Raiders are holding their breath on the rest of the offensive line.
“It ranks number one in the weirdest things,” Carr said Wednesday of the situation. “You all know we’ve seen a lot of weird things around here in my seven years.
“But this is definitely up there with some of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen.”
It certainly is a weird situation for the Raiders to be in. If they lost their entire starting offensive line for even just one game, it could be a major problem. Fortunately, it sounds like four of the starters could be available on Sunday.
Carr Moving up QB Rankings
Many have been down on Carr in the past but there’s doubt he’s been putting together a very strong season. Pro Football Focus went through and ranked every single quarterback and Carr was ranked at number 12. They ranked him ahead of the likes of Drew Brees, Carson Wentz and Cam Newton, just to name a few.
For the first time in the last few years, Carr has legit weapons to work with. When Henry Ruggs is on the field, it’s clear that Carr becomes more effective. He may not be one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks but he’s been really good. A win and a strong performance over Brady could catapult Carr into the MVP conversation.
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