The Las Vegas Raiders have finally locked down their quarterback of the future, and it is the one they already had. The team agreed to a three-year contract extension with Derek Carr worth $121.5 million to keep him in Vegas through 2025.
The Raiders have been extremely active this offseason, adding a star receiver in Davante Adams, Carr’s close friend and college teammate. Once that happened, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Carr would be with the Raiders for the foreseeable future, but of course, nothing is certain until the deal is done and that is finally the case.
Carr’s teammates are undoubtedly excited for him as well. Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby took to Twitter to congratulate his quarterback on the new deal:
Major Bag 💰💰💰 Congrats Brother‼️ @derekcarrqb
— 🦅MaddMaxx🦅 (@CrosbyMaxx) April 13, 2022
Even when he had some struggles, Carr was clearly the leader of this team. True leadership is hard to come by, and Carr has that in spades, as his teammates always rally behind him and have the utmost respect and belief in their quarterback. Needless to say, Carr has earned this deal.
But of course, nothing is guaranteed. With the Raiders adding a new head coach and general manager this offseason in Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, respectively, the idea of wanting to bring in their own handpicked quarterback are sure to come.
But in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport revealed that McDaniels was a fan of Carr even when he was still with the Patriots and that getting an extension done with Carr was always a top priority:
"Josh McDaniels has always been a fan of Derek Carr.. as soon as he took the job they wanted to get this extension done" ~@RapSheet#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/0o4OZFxD8D
— WrestleMania Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 13, 2022
With this deal now done, and the team making major additions in Adams on offense and pass rusher Chandler Jones on the other side of the ball, the Raiders will now turn all of their focus on the upcoming NFL Draft and continue to bolster their roster.
The AFC West looks to be the most difficult division in the NFL, and the Raiders will have a battle on their hands to come out on top. But with the moves they have made this summer and now locking down their quarterback, the Raiders are primed to make a real run this season.
