Between the cities of Oakland and Las Vegas, Derek Carr was the starting quarterback of the Raiders for nine seasons from 2014 to 2022. His tenure ended, however, with being benched at the end of the 2022 season and being released the following offseason.
Since his departure, the team has cycled through failed signal-callers like Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder. But none have been able to find any success with the Silver and Black.
This offseason, new general manager John Spytek traded a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Geno Smith. This reunited him with new Raiders coach Pete Carroll, who coached him for four years in Seattle.
Carr retired this offseason after two years with the Saints, so he no longer has ties to other NFL teams. On Saturday, Carr spoke with a reporter about the Raiders’ prospects this season and sent a message to Smith before his first season in Las Vegas.
“Geno can go out there and do what he does, and be accurate. He’s a crazy accurate passer, I’ve always been a great, big fan of his. Always had a good relationship with him, so I’m rooting for Geno,” Carr said. “I hope he breaks all my records. I hope he has the greatest career and time with the Raiders. That’s what you want, you want to leave a legacy, and then you hope that someone else can come in and try and break it, try and top it, and that’s what I’m rooting for, for him.”
Smith did pass for 4,320 yards last season for the Seahawks, a career-best. He has also been named to the Pro Bowl in two of the last three seasons and won the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
He and Carroll have a unique rapport with each other that they will ideally bring to Las Vegas. This new tandem will look to snap the franchise’s 22-year playoff win drought in 2025.
Carr only made it to the playoffs twice in his tenure with the Raiders, losing in the first round in 2021. He was injured during the team’s lone playoff game in 2016, meaning he had an 0-1 career playoff record when he retired in May.
