If there is a general manager currently in Indianapolis in need of a quarterback and someone to share a shrimp cocktail with at St. Elmo’s, Derek Carr is your guy. There will be more than 300 NFL prospects in town for the NFL Scouting Combine, and also one free agent veteran quarterback roaming around downtown Indy.
NFL Networks’ Mike Garafolo is reporting that Carr is in town to speak with teams interested in signing him. He is having meetings on Tuesday with the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Carolina Panthers.
Garafolo said that a veteran free agent showing up to meet with teams is such an infrequent occurrence that the only player he ever remembered doing so was DeAngelo Hall in 2008. It was rumored at the time that Hall would be traded to the New York Giants.
Is Carr showing up to the festivities in Indianapolis wearing the fragrance of desperation? Possibly. He has been a starter in the NFL for eight seasons. Even if the Las Vegas Raiders released him with no clear succession plan, that doesn’t make him an undesirable player.
There are only 32 NFL starting quarterback jobs available on earth. Yes, the Raiders performed wildly below expectations in 2022, but during the 2021 season it could have been argued that — if the game were better officiated — they would have defeated the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals on Wild Card Weekend.
The fact that the Raiders were even able to claw their way into the playoffs in 2021 shows that Carr checks all the boxes in the leadership section of quarterback evaluations. His best wide receiver was arrested after allegedly being at fault in a DUI accident that resulted in a woman’s death. Ruggs’ lawyers did not enter a plea when he was formally charged on Nov. 10, 2021.
This came a month after Carr’s head coach, in the middle of a 10-year contract, resigned from his position. The New York Times discovered some highly offensive emails were sent by Jon Gruden throughout the previous decade.
Carr kept that leaking ship afloat through the rest of the season, albeit with unspectacular statistics. However, his numbers were only slightly worse this past season and he still participated in the Pro Bowl as a replacement.
He does not have the resume of a person who needs to be at a job fair with it printed out on the 0.50 cent paper as opposed to the 0.15 cent so it will stand out more. Then again, maybe Carr showing up to the combine proves that he is exactly the type of leader needed by the Jets, Saints, Panthers or any other team.
Carr doesn’t mind flying out to the biggest NFL front office party of the year to talk some business in the midst of the prospect evaluations, beverages, and well-marbled beef. Humility should be a quality considered when looking for a new leader, even if there are some out there who might see it as a weakness.
So for the person who accidentally walks into someone’s chair at St. Elmos on the way to the bathroom after too much shrimp and ribeye, it’s not the “Elmo Cola,” playing tricks on you, that is indeed the former quarterback of the Raiders.
