Raiders quarterback Derek Carr made it clear in August that he’s “tired of being disrespected” by those outside the organization.
His message hasn’t changed with the regular season about to get underway. Carr joined Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio Tuesday and expanded on why he feels like he isn’t getting the respect he’s due after posting a career-high quarterback rating during the 2019 season.
“I think it’s the people that, just really just, without lack of a better term, just don’t know what’s going on,” Carr said. “What we accomplished, what we’re able to do has been pretty awesome. And some pretty fun circumstances, I’ll say it, in a fun way. It just is what it is. I’m just tired of the talk, I’m just ready to play. and I’m excited to take my group of guys, and go and do this thing. And like I said, people can keep saying all they want, I think I’ve grown to a place in my life, where I just don’t care anymore. I’ve always been a people pleaser. I’ve always tried to appease everybody, but those days are dead and gone. I’m here, and no disrespect to anybody, but I’m not here to be anybody’s friend. . . . I think it’s time to just go out and play football and not care about the other stuff.”
However well Carr might have played and whatever the Raiders accomplished as a team, they still finished 7-9 last season. They’ve also won 17 total games over the last three seasons and that kind of record rarely results in torrents of praise for the player quarterbacking the offense.
Should Carr continue playing well while the Raiders find their way to a winning record, it’s a good bet that people will be singing a more positive tune whether Carr continues to listen or not.