Derek Carr looks back at his final days with Raiders. Here’s what he hopes for them

Derek Carr hoped to finish his last two games as the Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback in front of fans at Allegiant Stadium after he was told that he would be benched.

Not getting a chance to do that didn’t sit well with him.

“I was, for lack of a better term, I was very upset; I was mad,” he said.

“You spend nine years in a place, you have all the records and you can play at a high level and for something to get in the way, whether it was whatever reason, money related or whatever, injury related, I would have said I don’t even want the money, just to play two more times in front of our fans. I didn’t get that opportunity. So it definitely lit a fire inside me to keep going.”

Carr was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft and over his nine seasons with the NFL team saw several head coaching changes. He holds several Raiders records.

He had hoped that he would finish his NFL career with the Raiders, but the front office saw it differently and released Carr in February.

Carr was benched for the last two games of the 2022 season to avoid an injury or his contract (failed physical) would have been guaranteed in February.

Carr later signed with the New Orleans Saints.

“If you win more games and you keep being productive, you stay there forever,” Carr said. “But we didn’t win enough games and that’s the kind of stuff that happens with all the turnover of coaches; with all the different things. Eventually, the last guy in the room is usually going to be out at some point. And that’s really what happened.

“I’ve survived about 20 coaches and that’s how it goes and it is what it is.

“But I’m happy to be somewhere where we’re in a stable organization that’s been proven for years and I hope that the Raiders find something good there too, where they can keep that stability for the next guys because I know how important it is and I care about my old teammates. But for the time being, I’m just excited to be a part of the Saints organization because they’ve won at a high level for a long time.”

The Bee asked Carr if the Raiders had had a change of heart and wanted to keep him, what would he have done? He said he already moved forward with his decision as well.

There was one reason for that.

“Once they made my wife cry, that was pretty much over,” he said. “Once they made her cry, that was out. But the love for my teammates is what probably would have made me do it. But the way it worked out and the timing of things, I was just ... it was time for me to move on. But who knows? You never know what will happen.”

The Raiders signed free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to be the starter for the 2023 NFL season. Though Garoppolo is recovering from foot surgery, it’s expected he’ll be on the practice field in August for training camp in Henderson, Nevada.

Carr is hoping for the best for the Raiders.

“I have so many friends over there,” he said. “I want them to succeed. I want Jimmy to be healthy. I want him to play great, because that helps Davante (Adams). It helps Maxx (Crosby), Josh Jacobs. It helps all my friends, Kolton (Miller), Andre (James). I’m going to stop naming names because someone will get upset, but all my friends over there, I just want them to have success. That’s all I was ever trying to do is give my best so they could win.

“I want that so bad for them. I want them to feel that love of the game again. I want them to feel that excitement of the game again. I want to, even in the hard times, I want them to gel together, come together and say, it’s going to be all right and move on and keep pushing and I wish that for them and I hope the best for them, but I’m focused on our team. The thing that matters to me the most is the Saints win. I want my friends to have success and I don’t want them to have hard times, but I still want the Saints to win a little more.”

On to the Saints

Carr said it took some time to adjust to the new scenery in New Orleans, but organized team activities gave him time to get used to his new teammates.

He has familiar faces there in tight end Foster Moreau and safety Johnathan Abram, and Carr said all is well in the Big Easy.

“We had a great offseason as a team, really came together and the work on the football field is very competitive,” he said.

“It’s one of the more competitive, as many camps I’ve ever been a part of. We have so many veterans that are really trying to prove it every day and trying to beat each other every day, talking trash. It was so competitive and so fun to be a part of.”

Carr heard the talk about the Saints being the NFC South favorites, but “it’s going to be a lot of work to have to do that.”

“There’s a lot of work and we have a tough division that we are going to have to compete against and we’re excited about the challenge,” he said.

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan vowed to get Carr back to Las Vegas in 2024 for the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.

Carr said that comment illustrates Jordan’s commitment.

“For a defensive leader to say that, he wants to take me back there, just shows his heart,” he said. “That’s his love for his teammate, that he wants to do something like that for his teammate. And that’s pretty much all our guys and that’s why I fell in love with the place. It would be kind of a cool story to be back there.”

DC4Kids meet and greet

Supporters of Carr’s DC4Kids met with the former Fresno State star in Fresno on Saturday evening.

Supporters donated $2,500 for the DC4KIDS Touchdown Challenge that helps Valley Children’s efforts to provide the care for local children.

Many of the supporters came in Raiders and Saints jerseys. Supporters took pictures and chatted with Carr and had some of their memorabilia signed.

“I’m trying to get used to the colors for sure,” Carr said. “It’s been unbelievable. The Central Valley has always been so committed to helping support me and support our family and they proved it again today with all the Raiders jerseys, all the Saints jerseys. It just shows man, just our community and what I believe that it is, it’s just a big family and it’s really cool to see.”