Saturday marks a special day in the Las Vegas Raiders organization as it is the 29th birthday of starting quarterback Derek Carr, who was born on March 28, 1991.
The Raiders originally drafted Carr in the second round (36th overall) in 2014 out of Fresno State. He earned the starting job as a rookie and has been the team’s signal-caller ever since.
Carr has been named to three Pro Bowls in his six seasons with the team, but the 2019 season may have been his best. Playing in all 16 games, Carr posted career-bests in passing yards (4,054), completion percentage (70.4) and quarterback rating (100.8).
He did all of that with a revolving door at the receiver position after Antonio Brown was released just before the start of the season and Tyrell Williams dealt with plantar fasciitis in both of his feet for a majority of the year.
In honor of Carr’s 29th birthday, the Raiders posted a highlight video of some of his best plays:
Here's to a happy 29 for No. 4.@derekcarrqb | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/MqynDUInSY
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) March 28, 2020
Despite Carr’s 2019 season, his future with the organization was uncertain going into 2020 as the Raiders finished 7-9 and missed the postseason last year.
While the Raiders flirted with other quarterbacks like Tom Brady, they ultimately decided to stick with Carr and he will enter his seventh season as the team’s starter once again. The Raiders did bring in another quarterback in Marcus Mariota to be Carr’s backup in 2020.
With the team beginning a new era at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Carr will be tasked with leading the team back to the postseason in 2020, and may finally have a roster around him good enough to get it done.
