Quarterback Derek Carr
Just a few days removed from his impressive performance against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, quarterback Derek Carr was back at the Oakland Raiders facility Tuesday to continue honing his craft. The Silver and Black will close out the preseason this Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and while it's unclear whether or not Carr will actually play, he stressed the importance of the rookies getting an extra opportunity.
Here are the quick hits from his media session:
Carr talked about the significance of this finale preseason game, especially for the younger players.
"That's an opportunity for a lot of guys to make the team, make a name for themselves, obviously they get more playing time because we don't play as much, as the starters. It's always exciting, some people just look over the fourth game, but it's really important to some people. Obviously it's really important for my career."
He shared how he's been able to provide encouragement, as well as relate to how the rookies are feeling.
"Whatever their situation is, I try to encourage them, try to give them some peace, a lot of them stressing out right about now just trying to make the team. I know that feeling, cause they gave me a chance to start the last game my rookie year, and there was going to be a lot told based on how I played. I just encourage these guys to make the most of it, study their tails off, and most importantly go out there and have fun."
No. 4 discussed wide receivers K.J. Brent and Jaydon Mickens, explaining what they bring to the field.
"Everything you get from K.J. is he's a super smart player, he runs the route exactly how you want it, he's like a coach's dream. He's going to do exactly what you say, now he's not going to run a 4.3, he's not 6'5", but he does exactly what you want. Then you've got a guy like Jaydon who obviously doesn't have the size, but he has that shiftiness, he has that playmaking ability on reverses and on short passes, and can beat one-on-one coverages. It's fun, this time of the year, this game is so important for some guys like that, cause they have to go out and put their best foot forward."
With his jersey being retired by Fresno State this Saturday, Carr opened up about what the accolade means to him.
"Every time I walked in that stadium for my brothers games I would tell my dad, 'Yeah they're going to put Dave's [Carr] up there, but they're going to put mine too.' And then when I was there it said, 'Carr 8' obviously every day I walked down that ramp, and I said they're going to put my name right next to that. It drove me, it pushed me to want to, again, change a culture of things that were going a certain way. It's just one of those moments I've dreamed of, and thank God it's coming true."
He wrapped up practice Tuesday breaking down his relationship with Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing.
"I threw a ball today that was literally, probably, two and a half inches too low, and he said, 'Get the ball up.' And I could've easily said, 'Come on, man.' My mindset is somewhere else, I'm not okay with just very good. He understands that if I can throw a perfect ball eight out of 10 times, then why can't I do it 10 out of 10. That is what our relationship, that's why it's so special."
