Derek Carr
Derek Dallas Carr is an American former professional football quarterback who played 11 seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs, receiving first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors twice before being selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft.
A four-time Pro Bowler, Carr helped the Raiders reach the playoffs during the 2016 season, the franchise's first appearance since 2002, as well as another postseason berth in 2021. Following a 2022 season that was below expectations, Carr lost his starting job and agreed with Raiders leadership to be released following the conclusion of the season. He left the Raiders as the franchise leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and pass completions. After leaving the Raiders, Carr played two seasons for the New Orleans Saints before announcing his retirement in 2025 due to a severe rotator cuff injury.
Early life
Carr was born in Fresno, California, the youngest of three children to Rodger and Sheryl Carr. He and his family lived in Bakersfield before relocating to Sugar Land, Texas, in 2002 when his oldest brother, David Carr, became the first overall draft pick of the then-expansion Houston Texans. Carr and his family moved back to Bakersfield for his senior year, and he attended Bakersfield Christian High School.Carr's high school football career began at Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas. After playing on the freshman team his first year, he became a backup quarterback on the varsity team as a sophomore. He did not prepare himself to become the starting quarterback, but a preseason injury to another quarterback thrust him into the role.
Carr made gradual progress as a starter for the Clements High School Rangers. He passed for 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore, and 1,622 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. While a junior, Carr led his team to an undefeated 13–0 season before losing in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Class 5A Division 2 State playoffs in Region 3 to a Bo Levi Mitchell-led Katy High School Tigers, the eventual champions. Also during his junior year, Carr was heavily recruited. His college choices included Fresno State, SMU, Boise State, the University of Southern California, UCLA, and Utah. Of these schools, only Fresno State, SMU, and Utah made a scholarship offer to Carr. Ultimately, he verbally committed to Fresno State on May 25, 2008, at the end of his junior year. Carr was the program's first recruit of the 2009 class.
In 2008, Bakersfield Christian High School athletic director and former NFL player Doug Barnett confirmed that Carr would transfer to BCHS, amid rumors that he would have gone to nearby Stockdale High School or Bakersfield High School, two schools with historically good football programs.
As a senior, Carr led the Eagles football team to a 12–1 record and the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Division V championship; the only blemish came at home against Oaks Christian High School, a national football powerhouse, during the team's season opener. On October 29, 2008, Carr was selected by ESPN RISE as the National Football Player of the Week after passing for 441 yards and three touchdowns in a game against Tehachapi High School five days earlier. Carr would eventually set a Central Section record by throwing 544 yards in a win against Arvin High School on November 7, 2008. Carr was also selected by The Bakersfield Californian as the 2008 All-Area Football Player of the Year. Carr also set a new school record when he passed for six touchdowns and ran for two in a blowout win against small school Fowler High at home. After his high school football career finished, Carr was named the National Player of the Year by the National Private Schools Athletic Association in 2009.
High school statistics
College career
2009 and 2010 seasons
Carr enrolled as an early-entry freshman for the spring semester at Fresno State, where his brother David also played quarterback, in 2009 so he could participate in spring football with the Bulldogs. Fresno State head coach Pat Hill stated that Carr, a true freshman, was "in the mix" for the starting quarterback position as late as mid-July. However, days before the 2009 season began in September, Hill announced junior Ryan Colburn would start over Carr. Carr appeared in five games as a freshman in limited action.Colburn continued to be the Bulldogs' starter going into 2010. After redshirting his 2010 season, Carr took over the starting quarterback position for Fresno State in the fall of 2011.
2011 season
Carr earned his opportunity to start for the Bulldogs in their 4–9 season in 2011. He made his first appearance as starter in the Bulldogs' season-opening loss to California. Three weeks later, Carr had a breakout game in a victory over Idaho with 371 passing yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. Six games later, on November 12 in a loss to New Mexico State, he had a season-high 391 passing yards and three touchdowns. In the 2011 season, Carr passed for 3,544 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He was among the passing leaders of the Western Athletic Conference in numerous categories.2012 season
Going into the season, Carr had a new head coach in Tim DeRuyter, who replaced the fired Pat Hill. Carr helped lead the Bulldogs to a significant improvement, going 9–4 in 2012. Going into the season, Davante Adams was coming off a redshirt and instantly became a reliable target for Carr.After splitting the first two games of the season, Carr passed for 300 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception in a victory over Colorado on September 15. Two weeks later, Carr had a career game in a 52–40 victory over San Diego State. He passed for a school-record tying 536 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. On October 27, in a game on the road against New Mexico, he had 416 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in the 49–32 victory. In the Bulldogs' regular season finale against Air Force, he had 452 passing yards and four touchdowns in the 48–15 victory. In the 2012 season, he passed for 4,104 yards, 37 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He won the MWC Offensive Player of the Year for the 2012 season. Like the previous season, his passing totals were among the Mountain West Conference leaders in numerous categories.
2013 season
Carr helped lead the Bulldogs to an 11–2 record in the 2013 season. The 11 wins marked the most for the Bulldogs since 2001.In the regular season opener, Carr completed 52 passes on 73 attempts for 456 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception in a 52–51 victory over Rutgers. Carr's pass attempts and completions in the game set new school and conference records. Following a win over Cal Poly in the next game, Carr passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns in a victory over Boise State to move the Bulldogs to a 3–0 mark. After a victory over Hawaii in the fourth game, Carr reeled off two consecutive games with over 400 passing yards in two victories. In that stretch was a five-touchdown game against Idaho and a four-touchdown game against UNLV. The Bulldogs moved to a 7–0 mark following a victory over San Diego State on October 26. The month of November marked a start of impressive games statistically for Carr. Against Nevada, he had 487 passing yards and three touchdowns in the victory on November 2. The next week, he had 360 yards and four touchdowns in a victory over Wyoming. Two weeks later, he had 522 passing yards and seven touchdowns in a victory over New Mexico to move the Bulldogs to a 10–0 record. In that stretch, the Bulldogs earned as high of a ranking of 15 in the AP Poll, their highest since 2001. On November 29, Carr passed for 519 yards, six touchdowns, and one interceptions as the Bulldogs dropped their first game, a 62–52 shootout, to San Jose State. Fresno State qualified for the MWC Championship Game. Against Utah State, Carr passed for 404 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 24–17 victory. The victory marked the first time Fresno State won the conference outright. He finished his collegiate career with 217 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in a 45–20 loss to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl.
In the 2013 season, Carr led the FBS with 5,083 yards and 50 touchdowns. He was among the leaders in many passing categories in the conference. He was named Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year, and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, which is awarded annually by the Touchdown Club of Columbus to the nation's top collegiate passer. He finished in eighth place in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Carr received the 2013 CFPA Elite QB Award for his performance over three seasons at Fresno State. He joined fellow Bakersfield native Phillip Thomas as the school's second CFPA winner.
While at Fresno State, he wore number 4 as a homage to his favorite NFL player, Brett Favre. Carr's number was retired by Fresno State during halftime of a game against Incarnate Word in 2017. On July 14, 2019, Carr received a mural at his former college, Fresno State University.
College statistics
Professional career
Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders
2014 season
Derek Carr was considered a late-first round or early-second round draft prospect in the 2014 NFL Draft, typically rated just behind fellow quarterback prospects in Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles, and alongside prospects like Teddy Bridgewater. Carr was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 36th overall pick. He was the fourth quarterback selected that year. On May 16, he was assigned his requested number 4. On May 21, he was signed to a four-year, $5.37 million contract with a $2.2 million signing bonus.On August 28, Carr impressed the coaches and fans in the Raiders' fourth and final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, after coming into the game as the backup to Matt Schaub and taking the Raiders down the field for three touchdowns in the first quarter, then throwing another touchdown on their next possession of the second quarter, before being relieved. For his short playing time in the game, he went 11-of-13 for 143 yards and three touchdowns for a nearly perfect quarterback rating.
On September 1, Raiders head coach Dennis Allen announced that Carr would start over Schaub in the team's opener against the New York Jets, and mentioned that the decision was not week-to-week; Carr would be the Raiders starting quarterback moving forward. Carr therefore became the first rookie quarterback in Raiders history to start a season opener, and was also the only rookie quarterback from the 2014 draft class to start in Week 1.
Carr made his first career regular-season start against the Jets on September 7. During his professional debut, he passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The Raiders were unsuccessful during his debut and lost by a score of 19–14. In Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, Carr left the game due to a high ankle sprain and MCL sprain. He was relieved by Matt McGloin, but the Raiders still couldn't find their momentum, losing to the Dolphins, 38–14.
In the fifth start of his career, on October 12, facing the division-rival San Diego Chargers, Carr made history by setting a new Raiders franchise record for the most passing touchdowns in a single regular-season game by a rookie, with four. This surpassed the previous record of three passing touchdowns, which was set by McGloin during his rookie season in 2013 versus the Texans. Additionally, Carr set single-game personal records for passing yards by throwing for 282 yards, and for total passer rating which amounted to 107.7. Although Carr had a career day, the Raiders ultimately were defeated by the Chargers by the final score of 31–28.
On November 20, Carr won his first NFL game by leading the previously winless Raiders to a 24–20 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. The Raiders trailed the Chiefs, 20–17, early in the fourth quarter, but Carr led them on an 80-yard drive that lasted just over 7 minutes. The fourth-quarter comeback ended with Carr throwing a game-winning touchdown pass with just under 1:40 to play. On December 7, Carr led the Raiders to a 24–13 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. Carr posted a 140.2 rating, the highest for a Raiders quarterback since Rich Gannon in 2001.
Carr finished his rookie season with 3,270 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He became the first Raiders quarterback to start all 16 games since Gannon in 2002.