As the 2022 NFL season inches closer, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is solely focused on leading Las Vegas to another postseason appearance.
On Tuesday, Carr addressed Dana White’s astonishing claim that he was involved in a deal to bring Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to the franchise in 2020. However, at the very last minute, then-coach Jon Gruden rejected the idea.
However, Carr told reporters that the botched Brady-Gronk deal is of no importance to him.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Carr said. “At the end of the day, anything I say will just be blasted out there so I’m just going to completely remove myself and just keep trying to play football. It’s been nice just answering football questions. And hopefully, no more drama in the city. That’s what I hope.”
While Raiders fans may ponder the big what-if should the franchise have landed the dynamic duo, Carr hopes the 2022 campaign finds the Raiders winning a highly-competitive AFC West division as well as making a deep postseason run.
Last season, the Raiders finished the season 10–7, earned a wild-card spot in the playoffs before losing to the Super Bowl runners-up Bengals. Carr threw for 4,804 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, the most of his career, in the ’21 campaign, while Brady put up gaudy numbers as well in Tampa Bay.
During the offseason, the three-time Pro Bowler Carr signed a three-year extension worth $121.5 million, giving him an average annual salary of $40.5 million and making him the fifth-highest paid quarterback on a yearly basis.
