Brother’s Keeper: Raiders QB Leans on Sibling for Guidance
Derek Carr is the franchise quarterback the Raiders have been searching for since their playoff run in the early 2000’s. Everyone knows this, it’s not breaking news. Unlike many football players, Derek comes from a religious family. In the Carr house, family comes before football. He grew up the youngest of three children with two older brothers who played. Plus, their father and uncle excelled as athletes as well.
When Derek was 11-years-old he watched his oldest brother David picked first-overall in the 2002 NFL draft by the Houston Texans. That same year he watched his older brother, as a rookie, get sacked 76 times per NFL.com. Throughout the next four years with the Texans, David endured 249 sacks overall. David shouldered an immense amount of pressure being the top overall pick with a new franchise. Needless to say, things did not go as planned. After five up and down years with the Texans, he settled in as a backup for the Panthers, Giants (twice), and the 49ers.
While all of this happened with David, Derek was making a name for himself, first in high school playing his sophomore and junior years in Texas, before transferring to Bakersfield, California for his senior year. He accepted a scholarship in 2009 to Fresno State and played four years for the Bulldogs while redshirting in 2010. In 2013 Derek won the Sammy Baugh Trophy for the nation’s top collegiate passer, an award that David had won previously.
Similarities exist between Derek and David. Both possess the same throwing motion. In addition, they tallied almost identical numbers at the NFL draft combine. Each also endured the transition from an elite college quarterback to making their way through the grind of the NFL. That’s where Derek can, lean on David for advice, critique, and a path when going into unfamiliar territory. Along with a tireless work ethic is why Derek Carr has what David didn’t. No one could mentor a rookie QB starting for an expansion team, behind a bad offensive line.
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As shown above, the Raiders employ a gifted quarterback. More importantly, Derek utilizes the insight passed on by his brother. It takes a quarterback to know one.
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