All signs point to Derek Carr’s departure from the Las Vegas Raiders being imminent, despite it coming a mere one year into Josh McDaniels’ coaching tenure. And it seems Carr’s feelings of McDaniels are a major reason why.
Hondo S. Carpenter Sr., a Raiders reporter for Sports Illustrated, highlighted the reasons behind the fractured relationship and cited a number of interviews with unnamed Raiders players and sources.
A majority of those included acknowledged how McDaniels held Carr and fellow Las Vegas players to a high standard, but the coach’s in-depth film breakdowns and teaching style apparently didn’t always sit well with the veteran quarterback.
“I had never heard Derek spoken to like Josh did,” one Raiders player told Carpenter. “He didn’t drop F-bombs, or ridicule him, but film sessions with Josh are brutal.”
Another player added in regards to Carr: “He has never had his mail read in front of the entire team like that.”
Other players on the team, however, didn’t have a problem with McDaniels’ approach given that he was consistent. McDaniels did the same for every player and coach with one unnamed player sharing he even called out the people that brought the water out on the field.
Carr took it differently, though, according to his teammates.
“Of course he got ripped more than anyone, he was the guy who touched the ball more than anyone,” one Raiders player said. “I think he felt that McDaniels was unfairly putting everything on him.”
Another teammate and good friend of Carr confirmed that notion and shared: “I can see that. Looking back, I do not think Josh was too hard on Derek; I don’t think he had taken such blunt force criticism in front of the team like that, and I think he was hurt.”
Carr, one teammate believed, saw it as “constant negativity.”
“Josh McDaniels had sold Derek on how much he believed in him, and the criticism, I think, and it is just one guy’s opinion, made Derek think that Josh was dishonest,” one player said.
Carr was benched ahead of Las Vegas’ Week 17 game and replaced by former New England Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The Raiders are expected to trade Carr, and likely would try to add a quarterback this offseason with rumors and speculation centering on Tom Brady.
