Why didn’t it work out for Derek Carr and the Raiders?
That was the question Kay Adams asked Davante Adams on her podcast this week, and Davante essentially pointed to the Raiders’ former head coach.
“I think ultimately it was the same reason it didn’t work with the old staff,” Davante told Adams.
“I just think the fit wasn’t right. He came in and made plays, made me All Pro again, and we had a great year together, but it’s tough to come in and play in any system and work with any coach. Obviously, we’ve seen Derek do that probably 10 times over the course of his career. Sometimes it works better than others… It wasn’t the year he wanted last year, either, but they’ve been able to build and get on the same page with some of the receivers and you’re seeing that comradery continue to elevate and now they’re rolling.”
Davante Adams tells @heykayadams why it didn’t work out for Derek Carr and the #Raiders pic.twitter.com/lU1oT7NvGI
— Pro Football Post (@ProFootballPost) September 19, 2024
As it turned out, Josh McDaniels couldn’t work with a lot of players in the Raiders locker room. The frustration reached a tipping point with Carr a lot sooner than the rest of the team, presumably because McDaniels was more involved with Carr than any other player at the time.
Additionally, McDaniels might have lost patience with Carr a little prematurely because he was under the impression that his old friend in New England was coming to Las Vegas in 2023.
As Davante pointed out, Carr struggled at times in his first season with the Saints, but the team has a new offensive coordinator, and the offense is rolling in Carr’s second year with the team. After two weeks, Carr leads the NFL in touchdown passes (5), quarterback rating (142.4) and, ironically, yards per attempt (11.4).
It’s still far away, but the game Carr has undoubtedly circled on his calendar is December 29 when the Raiders travel to New Orleans.
None of the characters that kicked Carr out of Las Vegas are still with the Raiders, but there’s no question this game will mean a lot to him.
