Derek Carr has apologised to the Las Vegas Raiders fans after leaving the team without giving them the best of his abilities.
After spending all nine years of his NFL career with the Raiders organisation, Carr was released by the team in February after he decided to decline the no-trade clause on his contract. The following month, Carr signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the New Orleans Saints, which reunited him with his former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen.
According to the veteran QB, Raiders fans did not get to see him perform to the best of his abilities last season. Speaking to the media, Carr explained how dealing with personal issues off the field and learning new head coach Josh Mcdaniel's offensive system cause him to struggle in the offense more than usual.
“They just didn’t get my best, and that drove me crazy at the end of the year because I felt so spread out in so many different ways,” Carr said during minicamp this week. “I just didn’t feel like myself, and I feel bad for the (Raiders) coaches and players.”
The Saints organisation are aware of Carr's belief that he did not play up to his standards last season. However, the team also knows that Carr is concentrating on becoming the best version of himself in this next chapter of his career.
Saints coach Dennis Allen spoke about the organisation's thoughts as they courted Carr after his release. They believe that he could return to the kind of form that twice helped the Raiders into the playoffs after breaking down the film of what they have seen from him during minicamp workouts.
“We talked about last year and how he probably didn’t have as good a season as he may have wanted or anticipated, said Allen. "All I can say is that when I watch him now, there’s a clear focus on being the best version of himself for this football team,” Allen added.
Carr previously referred to his Saints rookie season as a chance to start a new life with a new organisation. He admitted his excitement to join increased after realising the family dynamic and the togetherness that the team have been building every single day, and how the mentality trickles down from the front office to the ball boy.
Carr was drafted by the then-Oakland Raiders with the 36th pick in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The 32-year-old quarterbacked the team as their starter for the first nine years of his 10-year career - including a transitional period when the Raiders officially relocated to Las Vegas ahead of the 2020 season.
During his time in the black and silver, Carr passed for 35,222 yards, 217 touchdowns, and maintained a QB rating of 91.8, winning 62 games as a starter. The numbers recognise Carr as the all-time passing leader for the franchise and the highest pass completion percentage in a single season, with the team at 91.2%.
Despite individual success across nine years, Carr only reached the postseason with the Raiders twice. In 2016 he didn't play in the postseason due to injuries.
In 2021, the Las Vegas Raiders made the playoffs but were eliminated by the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round after Carr threw an interception to Germaine Pratt during the game's closing seconds.
