McKenzie confident Raiders, Carr will agree on contract extension

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Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie drafted a franchise quarterback in 2014. Derek Carr is his guy, and has budgeted accordingly.

McKenzie wants to extend Carr’s deal this offseason, before he enters a contract year. The 25-year old signal caller wants a deal done before training camp starts. That’s 10 weeks away, plenty of time to hammer out the biggest deal in franchise history.

An extension is expected. Make no mistake about that.

McKenzie wants to keep Carr. Carr wants to stay. Both sides want a deal done soon. That’s nothing new. McKenzie and Carr have screamed those sentiments from the mountaintop.

Carr’s camp and the Raiders have talked about contract parameters already, though serious talks haven’t started. McKenzie said they would at some point after the NFL draft, though NFL Network reported Carr is frustrated the Raiders haven’t reached out yet.

The Raiders will at some point this spring, and start discussions on a long-term contract extension for the public face of their franchise.

McKenzie said he hasn’t sensed frustration in his interactions with Carr.

“I see Derek every day. We have a great relationship and communicate very well,” McKenzie said Wednesday in an interview with 95.7-The Game. “That’s not going to be an issue at all.

“As far as the contracts go, I don’t like discussing contracts outside these walls. I kind of keep that as my mantra, to keep that in house. But the bottom line is that we love Derek and we want to keep him. We’re going to everything to make sure this contract gets done.”

Carr has stated several times he wants to be a Raider his entire career, but a hometown discount isn’t in the cards. The Raiders have budgeted for big-money extensions given to Carr and Khalil Mack. McKenzie also hopes to extend right guard Gabe Jackson this offseason.

Carr will end up with the biggest salary of the bunch. It isn’t an easy deal, especially with the prospect of moving to Las Vegas – there is no state tax in Nevada – and an ever-increasing salary cap and NFL television revenue.

McKenzie understands big money is required to lock Carr down.

“The only thing that comes to my mind is that I want Derek Carr to be a Raider for his career,” McKenzie said. “That’s the only thing that comes to mind. We’ll get it done however we need to get it done. When you’re talking about negotiations and all that, I’m not the negotiator, but I will make sure that…I want Derek here and I want him to be a Raider. He knows that.

"We’ve had many discussions leading to that. We want Derek, and Derek wants to be here.”

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