Derek Carr got a win in his first-ever start against the Kansas City Chiefs. Everything would crumble for him—at least against Andy Reid's team—from then on out.
A veteran quarterback dealing with a serious shoulder injury heading into the 2025 NFL season, Carr officially decided to call it quits when treatment on his shoulder wasn't progressing as hoped. On Saturday, NFL reporter Ian Rapoport noted that Carr has decided to retire instead of trying to return in 2026 to the New Orleans Saints following surgery.
Carr is a familiar face to Chiefs fans as the longtime starter for the Las Vegas Raiders. The AFC West rivals face each other twice per season, which means Carr had plenty of starts—18 to be exact—against the divisional foe.
After that first start, Carr would average a win every three years—giving him a total record of 3-15 in his career.
Derek Carr is calling it a career after 11 seasons in the NFL, and Chiefs fans will remember him as a frequent foe who rarely found success against Kansas City.
The Raiders already made life miserable enough for Carr, who never once celebrated a division title in his career and only had a single playoff start to his name 11 seasons as a starter—nine with the Raiders. Carr went to the Pro Bowl on four separate occasions, but the Raiders went 77-92 in his tenure leading the offense.
Of course, even when a league-leading defense backed him up, Carr still went 0-2 in that 2016 season against the Chiefs. The Raiders made the most noise that season, going 12-4 before Connor Cook lost in the Wild Card round (following an injury to Carr and then Matt McGloin). In 2020, Carr got his only shot at the postseason but the L.A. Chargers, another divisional rival, took care of them in a 35-32 overtime thriller.
Against the Chiefs, Carr had 18 starts with 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions to his credit. He had a 62.6 completion rate with 4,285 passing yards, all of which was good for an 88.3 passer rating in just over a full season's worth of games versus K.C.
Carr's best effort against the Chiefs came in a memorable last-second win back in Week 7 of the 2017 season—remember it was one of only three victories for Carr against K.C. He threw for 3 touchdowns and 417 yards with zero picks and zero sacks. It was a masterful effort that included a game-winning touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree as time expired.
Unfortunately for Carr, however, such moments were few and far between against the Chiefs. Andy Reid has owned the division for nine consecutive years, and even when Carr went to New Orleans for the last two seasons, he still couldn't get the best of K.C. in a single effort in 2024.
That said, Carr enjoyed a nice career, even in the shadow of a dominant division rival. Four Pro Bowls and one third-place finish in an MVP race is nothing to sneer at. In fact with over $195 million in career earnings, Carr has more than enough to celebrate as is.