Raiders' Carr Talks State of the Silver and Black

Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr stepped to the microphone after a routine mandatory mini-camp practice to discuss the state of the Silver and Black.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The 2022 Las Vegas Raiders have a new coach and general manager, but the field general remains the same in the ever-reliable Derek Carr.

After a mandatory mini-camp practice, Carr stepped onto the platform to discuss the present state of the Silver and Black.

We were there, and have it all for you.  You can watch the video in its entirety, or read the transcript below.

Quarterback Derek Carr

Q: A lot of people talk about Josh McDaniels as an elite offensive mind. When you guys are talking football, are you starting to see why people talk about him like that?

Carr: “Yeah, absolutely. Our system is different than anything I've been in before, but once you're in it, you're like, ‘Wow, I see why it was so successful.’ Just like anything else, once you get in it, like (Jon) Gruden’s offense, I was like, ‘Wow, I see why he was successful with this.’ And obviously Josh has a great track record of success and scoring points and all that kind of fun stuff. It's exciting to be coached by him. He's very demanding, but he's also really fun to be around. Our meetings are great. From day one, since the first phone call, he's been very honest, he's been very open, and I appreciate that as a player.”

Q: This isn't your first time learning a new offense. Are there some things that you've learned over the years to be able to streamline the process to be able to get a command of it a little bit quicker?

Carr: “Yeah, absolutely. Just being a fan of football, you watch their games, and I was always a fan of his and Coach (Bill) Belichick. I always was very intrigued by the things that they would do schematically. And so, it's funny, we watch the cut ups and I'm like, ‘Hey, I remember this play. It was against this year, going against this coordinator.’ And he laughed. I've always been a fan. And so just being in it and learning the details of it and having the OTAs to grind through that has been huge. But drawing on past experiences, it helps me. It’s not like I'm starting off as a rookie. We can hit the ground running. He can say things and I'm like, ‘Yep, got it.’ And we can move on faster to get to other things, so hopefully that'll help us get everything in and in a speedy process. But I'm still learning just like everybody else.”

Q: I just asked Josh about the high percentage of participation in OTAs allowing for this mandatory camp to get the ball farther down the road because of the guys. As a captain, what did you do to make sure everybody was all in with OTAs?

Carr: “I think it starts with Dave [Ziegler] and Josh [McDaniels] just keeping the right people here and signing the right new guys. The expectation is always that we're going to be here and we're going to work. And the guys that they signed and the guys that we resigned that are here, like there's literally no other answer. There’s no other thing that we would be doing besides this right now. If you want to play golf, just do it after practice. And so, we've we spent many times doing some fun things together and dinners as players and things like that. But it's always after the work gets done. And so, as captains, our job is really easy because you tell the guys, ‘Hey, this is when we're going to be here,’ and everyone shows up because they're really good professionals and that's what they want to do.”

Q: What's it been like being out there with the Davante Adams and wearing the same uniform again??

Carr: “Yeah, it’s cool. It’s kind of surreal. It's been really fun for us. A lot of inside jokes from college that came back just like this, just being on the practice field, and we're learning each other again as well. We're both in a new system. It's not really a system that we've been in before, so we're both learning and growing through that. Like, ‘Oh, hey, I'm going to do it like this next time.’ So, we've had some fun plays and we've had some where I'm like, ‘Hey, if you do that and we kind of talk through it.’ The relationship part is the easiest part because what we're both saying to each other, we both understand each other and we're getting better. And that part's exciting. But again, him and I, we have a long way to go, just like everybody else. We're learning, we're trying to get better and hopefully put a good product out there when it's time to take the field. But it's just been fun to have my friend back.”

Q: Do you sense that the offense is kind of an older group, a more mature group this season?

Carr: “Yeah, absolutely. And the way that Josh coaches us, I think the level at which he's talking and the things that he's demanding and asking of us, it's good because usually when you have a lot of young guys, the training has to slow down. And Josh said we're going full steam ahead and he trusts that with a veteran group of guys that have a lot of football behind them, they can pick it up and run with it. And so, you definitely feel that. You can definitely sense that in the way that they coach and what they've thrown at us and what they expect from us from day one. I think Josh would probably speak on it better, but for me, I feel like that that has been a big advantage for us. But from a learning aspect, from an execution standpoint, just keep working and get better at it.”

Q: How important is it for you to work with your offensive line to make sure you're in tune with them during the off-season?

Carr: “Oh, yeah. I mean, it's new terminology. There's new words that mean new things. You don’t erase everything you've learned, but from a word standpoint, we're using different words to get certain things done. There's different philosophies and different things like that. And you're trying to take it and execute what Josh wants at the highest level. That’s how I've always been. I told you guys, even with the other coaches that have been here, I try and take what they're teaching me and do it at the highest level to where they're like when they're watching the game, that's exactly what they want. So, there's a lot of work going into it, with me, with Andre (James) and the communication and with the running backs. With how we run things, it takes everybody to be on the same page. So, it's not just one group. I mean, it's all of us making sure that we're all on the same page so that we can execute at the high level.”

Q: How much does having Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow open things up for Darren Waller?

Carr: “Well, we hope a lot. It doesn't matter now. I can sit up here and say it'll be great, and we go out there and it doesn't work. There's a lot of hard work that needs to be done in order for what you're trying to get at for that to be a successful thing. And that's our plan and that's what we hope, but there's still so much work to be done. Hopefully we get everybody rolling to where it's hard to do everything, where we can run it, we can throw it. He helps him and he helps me and all that kind of stuff. There's a lot of work that needs to be done before we get into that. But you would think, and you would hope that it would help those guys.”

Q: Putting yourself in other quarterback's shoes when they face Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones, what does that even feel like?

Carr: “Oh my goodness. Well, I've played against Maxx every day for however many years now. And then I played against Chandler in the past. And watching him on film, everyone sees his production. I think the cool thing to me is they're both very hard workers. I've been around some good pass rushers, Khalil [Mack], LaMarr Woodley was the same kind of mindset, [Justin] Tuck was the same way. Yannick (Ngakoue) was the same way, just hard workers. And they're great guys to be around. I think that's one thing that sticks out with Chandler, is he's really fun to be around, but at the same time, when the helmet comes on, he gets between the lines. He works extremely hard. He picked me off on the screen today. I said, ‘Chandler, I've never seen you stop your rush like that. You always try and hit me in the chest.’ And he just started laughing, but it's been fun just to be around him and watch him work and really watch him teach the young guys. When Chandler walks in the room, all the guys go to him because what's he going to say? How is he going to teach that move and things like that? I think it's been cool for Maxx, and I think Maxx has been good for Chandler. I think it's vice versa. Maxx is a maniac when it comes to his effort and things like that. And watching Chandler try and chase after Maxx during plays has been cool to watch them push each other.”

Q: Probably been the first time in a while where it's just football for you. No contract talks and rumors. What's that been like just having the football be the focus?

Carr: “Yeah, it's been freeing, more so because I just don't have to answer it. It was like, I know what they're telling me in here, but then we don't tell everybody else, and we got to talk about it in here. It’s just nice for that stuff to be out of the way so we just play football. I'm sure someone will want to ask something or come up with something that won't even matter in 12 months, and it'll be fine. But for the time being in the building and just answering football questions has been nice. And really with everything we went through last year, I mean, tragedy and coach leaving and things like that, it was just so much. It's nice just to be coming to work and it's just all about football. I feel bad still for those families that have to deal with tragedy and loss and careers changing and all that kind of stuff. I mean, we're still all human beings. It’s hard to deal with, but when it comes to coming to work and just playing football, talking about football, it's actually been a lot of fun for me. I'm still a leader in those things, but I don’t have to put my leadership hat on and have to put the right message out there all the time when it's hard. It's been fun just to go to work and just grind, go out, make a mistake, learn from it, go out the next day, make it better. It's just been football. And so, it's been fun. I'm not going to lie.”

Q: Can you talk about your new quarterbacks coach in Bo Hardegree?

Carr: “Bo is awesome. He's got the most drills I've ever seen, and it's been great because they all apply to this system. Everything that we're working, it shows up. That's big for me. Just like in the past, that's how they were, everything applied to the system. Bo is the same way. Whatever we see on the practice film, he's going to show you in a drill, ‘Look, this is the drill we did and boom, here it's showing up.’ And it's been good. It's been really good for us. The relationships is great. He’s really fun. I don't know if you guys have talked to him yet or not, but he's really fun to be around and talk to and a really good person, great character. So, I've just enjoyed my time with him. And we're still learning each other. We actually installed a play that was quite similar to one I've been used to running, and I looked at Bo, because I've been looking at him, ‘Hey, what's the read on this,’ while Josh is coaching something else and I looked at him on that one was like, ‘Boy, I got this one,’ and we had a good laugh. So, I mean, just the relationship is building from that aspect of him getting my personality and me understanding his and it's been really fun. He's the same guy every day and super smart. So, I can ask him questions and his answers are rock solid and he's on it. So, it's been good.”

Q: Can you talk about Darren Waller and the possibility of him getting a new contract done?

Carr: “I've talked about this, but the way that Maxx, myself and Davante did things was hopefully to make sure it was okay for everyone else to accomplish what they need to accomplish. And so, when you're leaders and the guys that are supposed to be leaders in the locker room are showing like, ‘Hey, guys, we're making sacrifices to hopefully make it good for everyone else.’ Now the agents and that's their deal, and Dave, that’s between all them, and Tom (Delaney) and all those guys. But we've tried to put out there that we are trying to make an effort to keep everybody. Last time when I signed my contract, I didn't know, I didn't think about those things. And then I just assumed it would be all right. And then Khalil is gone, one of my best friends. I was like, ‘Dang, I never want to see that again.’ And so, I made sure this time that won't ever be a problem. They can talk about anything else, but that's not going to be something they talk about where it's not possible to do something. And so hopefully those things get done, but I'll leave that to Darren and his people and Hunter and his people and our guys. I'm sure they're all talking. They're all working on how do they make it happen because so far all the momentum has been so positive and it's been so great to be in the building with this new staff and with our team. So, hopefully all that stuff takes care of itself.”

Q: What were your thoughts when you heard Colin Kaepernick was getting a tryout here?

Carr: “I've known Colin since our days playing in the WAC conference, which is no longer a thing. My gray hairs may start to make a point for that. But I remember our days back then and just watching him and what he did in college and getting to know him and talking to him on the phone. I told you guys; I've loved my time with him. I think he's a great guy. He's been great to be around. I've enjoyed being around him, talking with him, competing against him. And so, Josh told me they were doing it and I literally said the same thing I'm telling you. I was like, I've enjoyed my time around him. I love him. Him and I would get along great. My brother knew him a little bit from San Francisco. I think Colin would just have to answer more questions than all of us would have to. Why hasn't happened? Why this, why that? But for me, it would have been just fine. I enjoyed my time with him.”

Q: How welcome do you think he would be in an NFL locker room? I know you can only speak about your locker room, but you've talked glowingly about him before. An NFL quarterback is a very small fraternity. How well do you think he would be welcome in this locker room?

Carr: “Oh, I think great. Yeah. For us, I think it'd be great. I don't want to speak for everybody in that kind of sense. Like, I don't want someone mad at me for saying, like, I think it'd be great, but I know him, and I would get along great. I know we have in the past, and I think we would again. I think for the most part, I think he'd get along just fine with our guys.”

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