Plenty of stories have emerged over the past couple of years regarding the possibility of the Raiders ditching quarterback Derek Carr for Tom Brady. Most recently, UFC president Dana White boasted about having a deal for Brady basically in place, until former coach Jon Gruden put the kibosh on it.
Carr was inevitably asked about the situation when talking to reporters on Tuesday. Specifically, is he immune to the chatter about Brady?
“By now, I would hope so,” Carr said, laughing. “I mean, it is what it is.”
What it is continues to be the lack of an unequivocal embrace of Carr. Even when he got a new contract earlier this year, the structure of the deal allows the Raiders to move on after the season, if they so choose.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Carr said regarding White’s tale of nearly landing #Tommy. “At the end of the day, anything I say will just be blasted out there so I’m just going to completely remove myself and just keep trying to play football. It’s been nice just answering football questions. And hopefully, no more drama in the city. That’s what hope”
If he’s numb to it, drama shouldn’t matter. But he needs to realize that, even though he’s on the fringe of the top 10 in the league, every franchise that doesn’t have a short-list franchise quarterback would like to get one. That’s why the Raiders considered Brady. It’s why they’ll keep having a wandering eye, until they either find a franchise quarterback or he blossoms into not a fringe top-10 player but a borderline top-five talent.