This isn't new in any professional sport, but Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said he won't talk a contract extension with the Raiders after Training Camp starts if the two sides don't come to a deal before then. Carr explained in a talk with reporters at the Raiders' OTAs that he will just shut off his phone and work to help Oakland win this season if something isn't done before then.
Carr said he wasn't taking a jab at the Raiders front office. He said that he was just going to only focus on winning once the season starts and not pay attention to his contract.
What is Derek Carr worth?
Honestly, this might be the best case scenario for the Oakland Raiders. Since Derek Carr is in the final year of his rookie contract, he will become a free agent but the Raiders can hold onto him using the franchise player tag at that time if they want to continue working to sign him.
Derek Carr exploded in 2016 with the best season of his career. In his third year as the Raiders starting quarterback, Carr threw for 3,937 yards with a career-best 63.8 completion percentage and 96.7 quarterback rating. He also lowered his interception numbers from 12 and 13 in his first two seasons to only six over 15 games of his third season.
Even more importantly, Derek Carr led the Oakland Raiders to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
In a stat that might seem shocking to people who consider Oakland to be an elite franchise, the Raiders have only been to the playoffs seven times since 1990. If Carr is the franchise quarterback that can keep taking them to the playoffs, he is worth every penny the Raiders pay him.
The Raiders want to keep Derek Carr
Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said he wanted the team to get a contract extension done for Derek Carr after the NFL Draft.
Carr's agent has been talking to the Raiders but a deal is not in place yet. Carr's new deadline for the contract extension gives the two sides a month to get it done.
The idea right now is for Derek Carr to get a huge contract out of this deal. The comparison at this time is the $140 million contract that Andrew Luck received with the Indianapolis Colts.
However, Carr said that the money is not what is important to him and one wonders if he will take less to keep the Oakland Raiders competitive. Luck got his payday last June but the Colts have now missed the playoffs two years in a row due to a lack of talent around him.
What it seems the Oakland Raiders want to avoid is making Derek Carr feel he is not a priority. The Washington Redskins have done that with Kirk Cousins. Despite Cousins playing extremely well, the Redskins have chosen to pay Cousins monster one-year contracts by using their franchise tag on him. That has caused Cousins to say he would rather play for a team that wants him.
It won't get that far with Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders but they need to get the deal worked out soon. Carr wants to win this season and won't let any contract talks get in the way.