Derek Carr lets fans know he thinks he can play for a long time
Tom Brady seems to have found the fountain of youth when it comes to quarterbacking in the National Football League. He just turned 44 years old and is entering his 22nd NFL season.
Brady’s ability to extend his career well into his mid-40s has inspired other quarterbacks across the league, like Oakland’s Derek Carr.
ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez spoke with Carr after practice recently and the former Fresno State quarterback seems to think he can do the unthinkable and play until he’s 45, too.
“I feel like I can play another 15 years, without a doubt,” Carr, who turned 30 on March 28, said Wednesday” “Nothing’s hurting. It’s the middle of camp, and I feel great. I feel strong, I feel fast, I feel explosive. And I think it’s just the way we train now.”
He spoke about spending money on taking care of his body properly and how much it’s helped him.
“I honestly feel stronger, faster, better than I first did when I got to the NFL,” Carr said. “And that comes with more knowledge on how to train, how to eat, how to take care of your body. And that takes a little bit of money sometimes, but it’s definitely worth it.”
DEREK CARR OAKLAND RAIDERS CAREER
Carr was a second-round pick with the Raiders in the 2014 NFL Draft. He put together one of his best seasons as a Raider under former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave.
Under Musgrave’s guidance, Carr guided the Raiders to a 12-3 regular-season record. In 2016, Carr completed 357 of his 560 pass attempts for 3,937 passing yards, while tossing in 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Former Oakland wide receiver Amari Cooper had one of his best seasons in his NFL career in that 2016 season, too, hauling in 83 catches for 1,153 yards, while hauling in five touchdowns.
Carr was also only sacked 16 times in the 2016 season, which helps to explain why Oakland had such a great record. The 16 sacks that season for Carr were the lowest number of sacks he’s ever taken in his eight years with the Raiders.
The former Fresno State signal-caller was named to the Pro Bowl after the 2016 season.
One of Carr’s best seasons came in 2020
Carr is coming off of one of his best seasons under Las Vegas head coach Jon Gruden in the 2020 season. He completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,103 yards, while tossing in 27 touchdowns and just throwing nine interceptions.
Raiders’ GM Mike Mayock had high words of praise for Carr’s performance in 2020, saying
“I think the most important point is that Derek did have an exceptional year,” Mayock said to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I think he’s gotten better each year with Jon, which is kind of exciting to us internally.”
(Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)