Derek Carr is on a mission to prove the Las Vegas Raiders wrong after they unceremoniously dumped him.
While Carr is in a brand new relationship with the New Orleans Saints, he still thinks about his ex-team. During his introductory press conference over the weekend, the quarterback elaborated on why his exit from the Raiders is serving as his motivation.
“It’s hard because I love so many people there. At the same time, it’s a breath of fresh air,” Carr said. “I just get to come in and show my work ethic, and really prove it again. … I didn’t plan on or dream of it finishing that way. That’s for sure.
“I understood the business side of it and why things were happening, all that. I mean, I get it. But it hurt. For me as a competitor, I wanted to finish with my teammates. … It lit a fire in me that I’ve always had, but it just made it hot. It gave me this excitement.”
Most leave Las Vegas wanting to forget about it all. Not Carr. He’s channeling his anger as he joins his new squad to be the best quarterback he can be in 2023.
Saints HC Dennis Allen on Derek Carr: ‘The veteran QB we wanted’
Derek Carr passed for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, while throwing 14 interceptions as well. He’ll be hoping to shatter those numbers in New Orleans, and Saints head coach Dennis Allen is elated to have him.
“I don’t think it’s just a veteran quarterback. I think it’s the veteran quarterback we wanted,” Allen said. “Don’t know that there was this thing, well, we got to go out and find any veteran quarterback. We wanted to find the quarterback that we wanted.
“Like I said before, we clearly identified that Derek was our No. 1 target. And we [went] out and got him.”
The NFC South is wide open, and the Saints put their chips in the center of the table with the Derek Carr move. It’ll be fascinating to watch how it works out in 2023.
