The Las Vegas Raiders brought in head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler ahead of the 2022 NFL season to finally fix the team's instability. Coming off a miraculous playoff run, the team also traded for star wide receiver Davante Adams.
This was a reunion for Adams and his college quarterback, Derek Carr, who was the franchise player for the Raiders at the time. Unfortunately, after a brutal six-win campaign, McDaniels and Ziegler benched Carr at the end of the season and eventually released him.
Carr went to the Saints for a short stint, but retired at the beginning of this offseason as he dealt with lingering injuries from the 2024 campaign.
While Raider Nation is wildly split on him as a quarterback, there was never any doubt that his heart resided with the Silver and Black. He recently spoke about his conversations with owner Mark Davis and a potential return to the Raiders' sideline this season.
"I've already talked to Mr. Davis, we've already talked, Mark's already called me," Carr said. "We're gonna talk and figure out what that looks like and when that looks like. But I can't wait to get back to a Raiders game and get down there on the sideline and see the fans again, that's my place."
Carr spent nine seasons with the Raiders after being drafted by them in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He led the team to the playoffs twice in his tenure and broke numerous franchise passing records during his near-decade with the Silver and Black.
All told, he threw for 35,222 yards and 257 touchdowns with the team and made four Pro Bowls as a Raider. Though he never got the team over the hump in the postseason, he far exceeded his expectations as a second-rounder.
The question now is whether Raider Nation will embrace him if he returns to the sideline. His playing career was certainly rocky at times, but most of the fan base abides by the franchise's saying, "Once a Raider, always a Raider."
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