Derek Carr says goodbye to Raiders, AFC West

Derek Carr’s days in the AFC West are over and it will be interesting to see where both sides go from here.

After 142 starts over multiple host cities for the same pitiful franchise, quarterback Derek Carr said goodbye via a heartfelt statement on Twitter on Thursday that served as his official end to being a part of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Carr took to Twitter to thank the fans in the various cities that could stomach the thought of hosting the Raiders in the first place and spoke to his coaches and teammates in that time as well. He also detailed how much he still desires to win a championship, something that’s about as far from the Raiders at this point as healthy water infrastructure.

You can see the official statement from Carr below:

Carr should have no problem getting a new starting quarterback role considering he’s often been the only bright spot—or at least somewhat luminescent—on a pitiful franchise for quite some time. Then again, should Carr decide to leave his professional career behind any time soon, he’d likely upset the routine for his brothers, considering all that David Carr does these days is hoist his younger sibling high on offseason QB rankings.

Suppose you want to know just how pathetic the Raiders have been in Carr’s run as the starter. In that case, all you have to do is look at his body of work over nine full seasons at quarterback and then know he’s only ever played into the postseason in one season and that was a single appearance—a loss in 2021 that bounced Carr out as soon as he arrived.

At this stage, Carr seems destined to end up starting for a team like the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, or maybe the Carolina Panthers. While those teams might also bring along a younger starter, Carr would provide an upgrade and someone who is ready from day one which would allow each franchise to be patient with its developing asset.

As for leaving the AFC West, Carr should be glad to get out. He’s 3-14 in his career specifically against the Kansas City Chiefs, and given that Patrick Mahomes is only 27 years old, it’s unlikely that the Raiders will find any way to rise atop the division any time soon.