Derek Carr is tired of all the rumors. After years hearing and reading NFL pundits speculating that Carr will be replaced as quarterback of the Raiders, he’s finally said he’s bothered by it.
Usually, Carr shakes off the news and talks about continuing to work to be better.
But this week, after more speculation that the Raiders would move on from him – after Tom Brady was seen talking to team owner Mark Davis at a UFC event in Las Vegas last weekend – Carr says he wishes it would stop.
"C’mon, man, when’s it going to end?" Carr told Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.
Carr had one of the best seasons of his career in 2019, helping the Raiders improve from 4-12 in 2018 to 7-9, just missing a playoff spot. Yet the Raiders passing attack was often criticized for not being dynamic enough, especially at challenging opponents deep. And, with Brady becoming a free agent, some analysts have predicted Davis and head coach Jon Gruden might want to turn to the Patriots’ six-time Super Bowl winner as quarterback heading into the franchise’s first season in Las Vegas.
As Brandon Thornton of Fansided’s NFL Spin Zone wrote this week, Brady even fueled the speculation a bit by telling the media he’s "open-minded" about going to another team, should the Patriots decide not to re-sign him for 2020. And, wrote Thornton, the Raiders have a history of bringing in veteran QBs who achieved a lot of success.
Wrote Thornton: "Brady would fit the mold of the myriad of signal-callers to join the Raiders that came from elsewhere. George Blanda, Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon are the most successful that come to mind, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg."
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Yet Carr says he wants the offseason talk about the Raiders to focus more on the strong steps they took in 2018, and how they’ll get even better before Game 1 of 2020. He plans to continue wearing silver and black, and has a contract that runs through 2022.
But, he knows he’ll always be the subject of speculation because it comes with the job.
"I’m used to it now," Carr told Gutierrez. "But I’ll say it this way: I look forward to taking the first snap in that (Las Vegas) stadium, and I look forward to taking every snap from here on out – until I’m done."
