Derek Carr is one of the most promising young quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL) today, but the Oakland Raiders could possibly be without his services for the next several weeks.
The Fresno State product had a very successful collegiate career on the football field, racking up 3,544 yards passing along with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The following year he'd pass for 4,104 yards and 37 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. In his senior year with Fresno State, Carr absolutely went off with a ridiculous 5,083 passing yards and 50 touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Carr was a top prospect in the 2014 NFL Draft, and was taken by the Oakland Raiders in the second round, giving Oakland what appears to be its franchise quarterback for the years to come.
In all three years of his NFL career as a starter, Carr has shown superb leadership en-route to three seasons over 3,000 yards passing (two being just under the 4,000 mark), and has passed for over 20 touchdowns each season as well.
Since Carr's joining of the Raiders, the team has also made a few playoff appearances and are viewed as a legit threat to any team in the AFC division. Carr's tremendous showing in the first three years of his career was rewarded with a five-year, $125 million contract extension, in which $40 million was fully guaranteed, $70 million in total guarantees and a $12.5 million signing bonus as well.
Thus far into the 2017 season Carr has looked the part of a franchise quarterback as he continues his stellar play, however, this past Sunday against the Denver Broncos saw Carr leave in the third quarter after taking a nasty hit from a pair of Broncos defenders.
He did not return to the game. The injury was said to be a back issue with the usual time table for a return looking around two-to-six-weeks.
Yesterday (Mon. October 2, 2017) Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio announced that Carr was dealing with a transverse process fracture in his back and it's very possibly he'll miss this week's game against the Ravens (quotes via NFL.com):
"There's a real good chance he'll miss this week," Del Rio said of Carr's status for Sunday's clash with the Ravens, noting that the signal-caller's time on the shelf "could be as short as two weeks."
Carr had this to say about the injury:
"I tried to come in here and have them work on it. I tried to throw and all those kind of things and it just wasn't ready yet," Carr told reporters after the game. "I tried to do anything I could to be back out there. I just couldn't."
What are your thoughts on the Raiders possibly losing Carr for a week or more? How much will this affect their playoff aspirations? When do you think we'll see Carr back on the field again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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