ALAMEDA -– The Raiders discussed pulling Derek Carr from Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. The rookie quarterback struggled against the AFC champs, the score was lopsided, prompting coaches to have a chat about sitting him down for the end of that loss.
It wouldn’t have been a permanent switch, just one early exit to let the kid unwind and keep him healthy for upcoming starts.
Carr didn’t want to come out. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson was happy to sustain the objection.
“That was encouraging,” Olson said. “…(Taking Carr out) was discussed internally at first, and eventually with him a bit. He said he wanted to play. We didn’t feel like we were leading him into harm’s way. We felt the experience would be good for him.”
It was.
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Carr led the Raiders 97 yards for a touchdown, something that meant little to the outcome or fan evaluation of his performance. The Raiders think it said something about Carr and his commitment to getting it right and taking small successes from generally disappointing days.
“I should be out there no matter what, good, bad or ugly,” Carr said. “For a long time, it was ugly. For me, it was really important to continue to finish. I’m all about finishing, so it was really important to me to go out there and finish. I’m glad that they kept their guys in, because I would have been mad if they weren’t. I wanted to go out there and compete one last time and just try and correct the things we’d been trying to correct all game.”
Carr has spoken several times about the value of experience, even in the worst of times. Every snap in vital, and he believes his presence alone shows the team he’s in it until the bitter end.
“I’ve always been someone who you’re going to have to pull me back a little bit instead of trying to get me going,” he said. “Maybe I was trying to do a little too much (recently). But I’ve got to be honest, I would rather have it that way and have him say, ‘Hey, let’s do this,” instead of them having to try and get me to go.”
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Olson has tremendous faith that Carr will be successful at the NFL level, because of what he’s seen and what the quarterback is ultimately capable of. There’s no quit in the 23-year old, who tries to absorb information like a sponge.
He isn’t always right, but he’s always trying hard. That’s the case even when victory is out of reach.
“You’re always looking for a competitive guy, especially at quarterback,” Olson said. “They have to hate losing and hate the thought of being taken out of the game. That’s certainly the case with Derek.”
