Raiders' Franchise "Carr" Talks Three-Year Extension
HENDERSON, Nev.--As you can imagine, the Las Vegas Raiders franchise quarterback Derek Carr was all smiles as he talked about his much deserved, three-year extension with the Silver and Black.
Carr's new deal comes after years of click-bait speculation that the Raiders' were not happy with him. We have reported that the organization was committed to Carr for two years, despite the unfounded rumors. We even reported that it was Carr who was a main attraction for Coach Josh McDaniels in coming to Las Vegas.
Despite the no-trade clause in the deal, I do not expect the minority, albeit vocal Carr detractors to again run with every wild rumor possible, in hope that he will depart. It won't happen, but it won't stop those with an agenda against the Silver and Black leader.
You can watch the entire press conference above, or read the transcript below.
Quarterback Derek Carr
Q: What does it mean to you personally to get this deal done and lock yourself in with the Raiders?
Carr: “As you know, man, it's been it's been crazy, this journey. And we feel like in the last couple of years, we've been trending in the right direction. And for me, it's says so much about a lot of things. There is a lot of coaches you got to prove it, there is a lot of GMs that you have to prove it to you. There’s been a lot of turnover, a lot of different players that you play with and to still be able to be here, it means something to me because like, I understand if someone came in, they’d want somebody new. Like, I get it, you know? But the fact that they keep believing in me and watching the tape and saying, ‘Wow, we want you to be here for some more years or some more time.’ That means that means way more to me than any of the other stuff it has to do with. I've only wanted to be a Raider and I told my agent, I said, ‘I'm either going to be a Raider or I'm going to be playing golf.’ Like, I don't want to play anywhere else. That's how much this place means to me. And I don't get really fired up talking about it or anything like that, but I hope people can hear my heart on that, that I was dead serious when I meant that. So, I had one year left on my contract. If it was one year, it was going to be one year, you know? Thankfully, it'll be four more and hopefully we can build on that, and I can finish and do what I set out to do nine years ago, and that is to win a championship. But that doesn't happen unless you put a lot of work in, and we have a long way to go before that can happen.
Q: How similar or different did the negotiations go compared to how you thought it would go?
Carr: “Yeah, I thought the whole time it was always trending the right direction. For me, everyone looks at like certain numbers and they're going to say, ‘Oh, well, they're not going to get the whole picture of how it's structured and how we did things.’ Tim [Younger], my agent, myself and the team, we made sure guys like Chandler [Jones], guys like Davante [Adams], guys like hopefully Hunter [Renfrow] and Foster [Moreau] and those guys can stay here the way we structured it. I went through a heartbreak already last time I signed my contract, my best friend left (Khalil Mack) and I didn't want that to ever happen again. And so, this was an opportunity for me to prove to the team, to the organization, to our fans that the way we're going to structure this is so that we can keep everybody together and really, really have real continuity, really have something to build on. And so, for me, it was like, how do we do that? Usually in these negotiations, how much money can we get? And then they’re, how much can we save? And this was just different. There was a learning curve about it, like how do we make that happen to where I feel good and to where the team feels great, like, man, we can still build a championship team around you. And so, that was what was important to us. And hopefully this contract proves that.”
Q: Were you willing to play on a one-year deal?
Carr: “Oh, yeah. I talked to my agent, I said, ‘Look, at the end of the day, I want to be a Raider.’ And I am crazy enough to go out there on one year and especially with the guys that are going to be around me, I said I'll take that chance and see what happens. But I think for me, I am a little bit different in the way that I think and in the way that I view this business. And I know not a lot of people view it the same way I do. I mean, you see guys wanting to get out and leave places all the time because it's too hard or it's not the right situation and all that kind of stuff, and more power to them. But there's something about this place where I was just like, I'll do whatever it takes just to be here. And so, for me, if it was one year, yeah. I mean, it sucks. It's not what the plan was from the team or from me, but I will do it. But they made it clear all along that this was a priority. So, I didn't really ever feel like the pressure that that was going to happen.”
Q: How early on in the process do they make that clear to you?
Carr: “I don't ever want to talk for somebody else. But I'll say it was very clear to me how they felt about me day one. And, again, I don't ever want to speak for Dave [Ziegler] or speak for Josh [McDaniels], but I knew I was going to be a Raider. I was just hoping that it'd be for longer than what my contract was at that moment.”
Q: With some of the moves that the team has made this off-season, how confident do you feel about the team’s ability to move forward this year off of last season’s success?
Carr: “You know me, I'm always confident. I’m always optimistic. I always think we're going to be alright, but I am excited. I think it's okay to be excited for what we've done. I'm excited where we're going, for who's locked up and who hopefully we can get locked up also and things like that. I think we have a special group of guys. I think we do have a special group of guys. But having a special group of guys doesn't correlate to wins. For me, the question of can I win a playoff game? Like, yeah, that's ridiculous. Yes. Just because we had one chance and we lost in the last series of a game to the AFC Champions. Yeah, I think we can, and it just shows you how close we were. But with that said, 55 percent of teams that make the playoffs the next year don't. So, odds are against us, and I like that kind of thought process better. So, I'm going to keep that underdog mentality and kind of that chip on my shoulder mindset. But at the same time, I know what I'm capable of. I know what our team's capable of and I'm excited to see. Obviously, we have to earn that spot. I don't know what we were, the fifth seed or something like that. Hopefully we can earn more than that this year. That's always the goal. With this division, it'll be tough, but we're excited for that challenge.”
Q: In terms of the contract, how important was the no trade clause in comparison to some of the other terms of the deal? And was the agent giving the mandate that the no trade clause needs to be included in the deal?
Carr: "No, Tim and I worked together. There's no mandates. We just work together as family, and we together thought that that'd be a great idea. And it was to make (ESPN Reporter) Paul [Gutierrez] stop talking about me. (laughter)”
Q: Speaking of some of the guys you’ll be playing with, how’s it been throwing with Davante?
Carr: “It’s been great. It’s been so good, man. It's been a couple of years since we got the throw together, because when we moved when we moved from the Bay, again, we were like almost neighbors. We always joked around because he bought the house just above us. I said, ‘So he can look down on us peasants.’ But he moved in right by us, and we've always been close, having dinners at each other's houses and things like that. And then when we moved, obviously he’s not coming out here, I wasn't going back to the Bay. But I told my brothers that after the first time we threw, they were like, ‘How was it?’ I was like, ‘Honestly, it was like riding a bike.’ Every ball is right here, and the guy is so freakishly talented, he makes me look better than I actually am. So, it's a blessing to be able to play with him, not only because of the player he is, but he's one of my best friends in the whole world. Like we've tried to plot and scheme this thing for a long time, you know? But at the end of the day, we both loved our situations. He had a great situation. I had a great situation. But we always talked about it, one day we're going to make it happen. And the opportunity came, and we worked hard to try and make that happen. And the fact that it's here, it's exciting. We've had success together, but that was at the college level, completely different. But we do have confidence that we can do it at this level too.”
Q: With Davante in the mix, along with Josh and the other pieces, what’s the collective vision for what kind of offense this could be this season?
Carr: “ Triple option, run-heavy. (laughter) We've gotten into some of that kind of stuff, but right now everyone wants me to say it's going to be this or this. We have to go earn it. Like if we don't go to work for it, it doesn't matter what I say it's going to be. People can put us, ‘Oh, we have the odds to get first in the division or we have fourth in the division.’ Like who the heck cares right now? There's so much work to be done that our only mindset is when we come in tomorrow to make sure we're outworking everybody. And if your best players are the ones leading that charge: Maxx [Crosby], Chandler, Davante Hunter, Darren [Waller], Foster, Kolton [Miller]; you know, if those are the guys that are leading that charge, Denzel [Perryman], saying we're going to outwork everybody, myself. That's where success stems from. That's where you give yourself a chance. I thought last year's group was special. I was telling my wife this like the first two days that we've had this week, it feels like a special group. And again, that never correlates to wins. It feels fun to come to work with these guys because of how hard everyone's working.
"And I'm trying to race Davante on our conditioning test and push him and of course he strides very easily past me. I was glad to see that, that he's getting older, but he can still run, so that's good. So, with all that said, when our hardest working people can lead the charge and be that, I think that'll provide what our offense can be. But right now, we've only had two days of work so I don't know what it can be, but the happiest person in the building should be Josh Jacobs. I know that.”
Q: Can you talk about the new staff being in a win-now mode with all the moves made this offseason?
Carr: “Yes. It's exciting because Coach Bisaccia would always talk to me about, for some of your some of your players you never want to waste years. And for me, my heart was in a place where you know, I'm 31, the way I feel, I feel like I'm 21. I feel great. But when it comes to NFL years, I've played eight, I'm going into my ninth year. I don't want to waste any time. I don't want to build. I want to win. And they made it very, very clear to me that we're not coming just to build something. Like we're going to build something, but we want to win now. They're coming into a new job, and we went to the playoffs. That’s not usually the case. Usually, you do have to come in and start over. But there are pieces in place and their scheme and the way they believe, they thought that these pieces could fit good in that scheme, offense and defense. And so that's exciting. So, it wasn't just a complete haul of players taken out and brought in. So, there's continuity there, which I've talked about helps so much. So, them showing me that is what means a lot to me, that they want to win now. If we're honest, like before you know who's going to be a coach, we're just thinking, I just hope it's like someone that's ready to take a step forward instead of, ‘Well, this guy, well let's get rid of him. Let's trade this for picks and build through the next three years.’ As older players, you're like, ‘Nah, I don't want to do that anymore.’ I've done that. I've actually lost count how many times we've had to do that. I'm glad that we're kind of just taking that step forward.”
Q: From your experience, what are some of the things that help a new staff coming in and ingratiate itself with the roster and translate that to success on the field?
Carr: “I think the biggest thing first off, obviously there's X's and O's and the more football you play, the more you’re like, they call this route just a different name and you're like, ‘Okay, I got it.’ And if it makes sense in the scheme of how they teach it, then it’s kind of is easier to pick up on the more football you play. But I think the most important part is the coaches getting to know their players, and the players getting to know their coaches, and building that trust. It's something that sounds like coach talk but it really matters when Josh calls a play, he knows I know what he wants done. I always talked about that with Gru (Jon Gruden), like when Gru calls a play, I want him to know exactly where the ball is going to go versus every coverage. And building that with Josh as fast as we can. He's watched a lot of tape on me prior to coming here and now he's here and all this kind of stuff, so he knows how I think. I think he's probably talked to Gru even about things and all that kind of stuff. You try and fast track that because the NFL is like let's go now, whether you're rebuilding or trying to keep taking a step forward, it's like you got to go now. So, building that trust and that communication. Just, ‘Hey, I don't like that. Hey, Derek, I don't like this. I need you to do it like this. Okay, perfect.’ That's what he expects. Same from me. And I think the faster that each position can build that with their coach, the faster will be a better football team going forward.”
Q: What kind of mantras have you taken away from the new coaches so far in your meetings with them? And what does it mean to see 98 percent of the roster show up for the first phase of voluntary workouts?
Carr: “Hopefully it shows, like even with guys with contract stuff, like hopefully it shows like, ‘Yeah, that's business, but our main objective in our heart is to win and we know to win you have to put the work in together.’ And so, our team showed up and it was really cool to see. I mean it is very evident we are going to compete and the only thing that matters is winning, like that's it. We're going to compete and the only thing that matters on that drill is who won the drill. And so, to me, that's exciting. That's how you get better as a team, is you put your best against your best. You compete. Everyone has an opportunity to show themselves and try and make this football team from here until cut day, and hopefully you take the best 53 into the season and make a run. And so, for us, we're going to compete as hard as we can, try and win every single drill against each other and it's going to be hard to do. But that's the mindset that they're bringing in, is we're going to compete at literally everything that we do. And the only thing that matters at the end of the day is who won that. And we'll coach off of that. And so, I'm excited. That's how my mindset has always been, so for them to come in and say the things. I’m writing things down and as I'm writing it; I'm not just writing it because coach is saying it, but I believe in it, you know? So, it's exciting. But again, I just try and temper it because there's so much we have to learn. There's so much offense and so much defense and special teams and the kicking game that we have to learn, that right now it doesn't matter what we want to think about the future unless we take care of business tomorrow.”
Q: Did you make sacrifices in your contract to help the team? And if so, does it stem back to your background and who you are as a person? What was your theme or message at The Altar Conference?
Carr: “Beholding Jesus. We've tried so hard in every area of life to take the Bible and Christ out of schools, out of the workplace, all this kind of stuff. And for me, I think it's time for us to take a step up and say, ‘Well, I think there's a pretty good game plan on how to love each other and how we should be treating each other and how to do business in the right way.’ And so that was kind of my theme for that and obviously that's a different thing than what we're talking about now. But for me, it was important that because of the Khalil situation like I just didn't want, and we still could have had him, but looking back on it, I'm like I want to make sure every opportunity is there for all of my guys to get signed. I want to make sure there's every opportunity. Like, yeah, I mean, I took sacrifices. You know, everyone just looks at certain numbers and like, why would you do that? First of all, get your hand out my pocket. That's number one. And you take less at your job. You know what I mean? But number two was we did anyway to make sure that guys like Hunter have an opportunity, not saying it's going to get done, but have an opportunity to get what they need. Foster, Darren, all these guys. I don't know. Whoever's out there, like whoever needs help, as long as Tim and I felt good. The main thing to me was, like, there were certain things that were important to me and after that, I was like, you know how to structure this. You know how to do this with the team and all that. Just keep my guys together.
"At the end of it, we sat down, and I saw it. I even think my (salary) cap number went down this year. Just bring my cap number down. I don't care how we do it. Let's just make it to where at the end of the day, I'm fine. My family's protected in their future, but at the same time, we can protect and take care of my teammate’s futures, too. And so, we made sure that we could do that.”
Q: During the negotiation process, there were some pretty massive, guaranteed contracts that were signed by other guys. Did that give you any pause on your contract?
Carr: “No. Still for me, we got to keep things relative too. I got four kids and we can go to Target and we're okay. I always say that, but it's true. They don't know how good they have it. You know, we're fine. So relatively, I’m happy for everybody. I don't care what everybody else gets. I'm worried about my contract. I'm worried about my family and worried about some of the things I have planned in my life besides football. And as long as I can take care of those things, we’re great. I want to help and bless and encourage thousands and millions of people. But sometimes that takes a little bit of money. So, there's some things I want to do there to help people in other countries, help people in this country. I’ve always said, I'm always thankful to God that he trusts me with this kind of stuff because it's going to go to the right places.
"I try my best. I'm wearing stuff that half of it was free. You know what I mean? We like to give back. We like to take care of other things. So, there's part of that that matters to me right. And then when other people are getting their stuff, I'm like, ‘Man, good for you, but I'm good. Let's make sure my teammates are okay.’ Because I know that there's some really good people in that locker room that want to do the same thing and take care of some people in their families, in their communities. And so that's what is more important to me than seeing other people getting some of the stuff they were getting.”
Q: Can you talk about how competitive the AFC West is going to be with the quarterbacks in this division?
Carr: “Yeah, it's unbelievable. Pat [Mahomes] is great. Justin [Herbert], he's just starting and he's going to be a great player for a long time. Russell [Wilson] has been great. It's exciting to go and compete against these guys. We've all had battles, we've all kind of had shootouts, so to speak, against each other. They've won some and we've won some. So, it's going to be tight. It's going to be hard. And it's going to come down to who does everything right, who does all the little things right, who's closer together, who's tighter of a unit and things like that. But I think for me, the exciting part for me is that you get to compete. Growing up, like I watch these guys (his sons) compete against each other in our house every day, and they're going at it. And you want to compete against guys that are at the top of their game, so for me, it's exciting. For the defensive coordinators, they're probably like, ‘Oh my gosh. Every week there's no breaks.’ But I think that that's how it should be.”
Q: With the NFL Draft being here in about two weeks, what memories come back to you when you think back to your draft in 2014?
Carr: “That I got passed over a whole bunch of times. I won’t forget, there was like a little TV crew in there for the first round because there were teams like, ‘Oh, if you're there at 20, we're taking you and all that kind of stuff.’ And then it doesn't happen and you're like, ‘Yeah, this sucks.’ But at the end of the day, I'll never forget, like the next day James Jones texted me and it was before the draft, and he says, ‘Why don't you come on out to Oakland.’ And sure enough, it was 36 I think, they were at the 36th pick and I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, wouldn't that be something?’ And when that phone started ringing, I was just so happy because I don't know why but I just wanted to go there. I was like I want to be part of fixing that. I want to be part of helping get them back to the playoffs and be a winning franchise again and things like that. So, we've proven it in spurts, but I think it's time that we just do it more consistently. And I think when I look back at that, I'm like we're in the middle of what I dreamed of doing. I wanted to be someone when all is said and done that my name would be at the top of a lot of lists on the on some stat sheets and all this stuff. And then I wanted to hold trophies and all that. Well, we haven't done some of those things yet, but I wanted to leave my mark on this organization. And to look back now and say I got four more years for that opportunity is exciting for me because people have trusted me all this time. The people that make decisions when other teams were calling, or this or that, they're like, ‘No chance. This is our guy.’ I look back at those moments and I'm thankful because I have another opportunity to go out and prove it again.”
Q: Who’s winning on the golf course, you or Davante?
Carr: “Me. 100 percent. We're not going to even front about that. But can I say, he has the most improved golf swing since I saw him two years ago. Like two years ago, it was a little tough and now he hits this nice little tight draw every single time, which I'm envious of. So, I got pray about that.”
Q: The last time we talked to you in last year, we talked about how the focus needed to be staying hungry and not getting your heads high after making the playoffs, maybe something you didn't see in 2016. How was that kind of manifested itself so far?
Carr: “The feeling coming in this year isn’t like, ‘We deserve this or we're going to do this and we're just going to walk through it.’ Like the feeling is, there is this hunger in everybody that we have done nothing yet. Like, yes, we wanted to make the playoffs. How we did it was miraculous. We had to win our last four to even have that chance and the teams we had to beat to do it was unbelievable. And you can feel really good about it, and we did feel good about it. We accomplished something, especially with Rich stepping in and taking over, and it was cool. But there's a hunger in us that we didn’t get what we wanted. The mindset was we’re winning this whole thing, that was our mindset. And so, there's a hunger there that clearly we didn't do enough work. Clearly someone in this building didn't do enough and we're all going to take that upon our shoulders and say I'm going to be the one that does more.
"And I think that's why I'm excited. Again, it doesn't promise us anything, but what it does promise us is it'll give us a better chance if we do the work, unless we don't. So, the mindset is definitely different than it was in 2017 coming into that season. We added some talent and we're like, ‘Oh man, we got this.’ And clearly, we did not. The mindset coming in this time is we need to do a little bit more because it clearly wasn't enough last year.
Q: Who goes golfing by themselves and hits a hole in one?
Carr: “This guy, right? We always laugh because going to play golf is like a way for me to work on something else and not think about football, especially with the contract stuff. I was like, I don't even want to think about it because if I just sit at home, that's all I'm going to think about. And so, I went out there and there was this group behind me, and for whatever reason on hole No. 11 they decided to be done and as the ball goes in the hole, I'm jumping up and down. I turn around and they're driving away. So, they didn't even watch it. There's literally no one to be seen, but you don't have to believe me. But it really did go in the hole.
Q: Is Josh McDaniel’s playbook similar to Jon Gruden’s?
Carr: “Gru had so much. He had something for everybody, and I thought that was really cool. And so does Josh, he has something for everybody. It's going to take a lot of work for our guys to learn it. And we've already started that process, but usually with the teams that have the most success like he has had the last 20 years or so, there's usually a good amount of volume there. But at the same time he's all about playing fast. And so, I'm excited. I really am excited. Obviously, it's different. But the same amount of work is going to be required to get it done.”
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