Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Raiders’ Derek Carr: ‘It’s especially hard to say goodbye’

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Steve Marcus

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) heads onto the field for warmups before an NFL football game against the New England Patriots at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Dec. 17, 2022.

Updated Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023 | 9:04 a.m.

Derek Carr has broken his silence for the first time since getting benched by the Raiders last month and leaving the team.

In a statement posted to his social media accounts, the 31-year-old veteran quarterback bid farewell to the franchise that took him in the 2014 NFL Draft and confirmed his plans to keep playing elsewhere.

“I once said that if I’m not a Raider, I would rather be at home and I meant that but I never envisioned it ending this way,” the statement read. “That fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages. A fire no man can extinguish; only God. So I look forward to a new city and a new team who, no matter the circumstance, will get everything I have.”

Carr finished his nine-year Raider tenure with a 63-80 record, including last year's playoff appearance, as a starter and virtually all of the teams’ career passing records including yards (35,222) and touchdowns (217).

Las Vegas will now seek a trade partner for their long-time quarterback up until Feb. 15, when Carr’s contract that will pay $33 million next season becomes guaranteed. The trade could be agreed upon in advance but couldn’t be completed until March 15, the start of the 2023-2024 NFL year.

If the Raiders don’t find a trade partner, they can cut Carr by Feb. 15 with a relatively minimal $5.62 million cap hit.

The quarterback and team mutually agreed for him to take a leave over the final two weeks of the season in order to not be a distraction for fill-in starter Jarrett Stidham. Carr went on to unfollow all official Raiders’ accounts on social media, indicating a rift between the two sides.

But the quarterback made it clear in his statement that he holds no ill towards the fan base, writing “Raider Nation truly is special” and noting “it breaks my heart I didn’t get an opportunity to say goodbye in person.”   

“It’s especially hard to say goodbye because I can honestly say that I gave you everything I had, every single day, in season, and in the off season,” he wrote. “It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I hope that I was able to leave you with more than a few great memories as Raider fans.”