For Carrier, playing for Gruden seems familiar
ALAMEDA >> The first time Derek Carrier sat down and talked with Jon Gruden, it was deja vu times two.
Gruden was telling the free agent tight end his vision of the Raiders offense and how he could help. Carrier couldn’t help feeling he’d heard it all before.
It sounded a lot like Sean McVay, his coach in 2017 with the Los Angeles Rams who got his first NFL job coaching under Gruden in Tampa Bay and adopted some of his style and mannerisms. And it sounded even more like Jay Gruden, Jon’s younger brother and the head coach in Washington where Carrier played in 2015-16.
“They’re all able to make a point at a meeting, and right then they’ll make a little joke,”
Carrier said Wednesday. “It’s uncanny how similar they sound. Coach Gruden and Sean sound alike, but with Jay and Jon it’s really similar when you’re talking about delivery and style of speech.”
Not surprisingly, there was no shortage of inside information when it came to the Raiders and Carrier.
In Washington, Deuce Gruden, Jon’s son, was a strength and conditioning assistant and McVay was the offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden in 2016 before moving on to the Rams last season as head coach.
McVay and the Rams brought Carrier aboard last season in
exchange for a seventhround draft pick. The quarterbacks coach with the Rams was Greg Olson, who is now offensive coordinator with the Raiders.
“I can just remember going to training camp and watching (Washington) and everybody liked Carrier,” Jon Gruden said. “Talking to my son, he liked Carrier. Then when McVay went to the Rams and Olson joined him, they liked Carrier. And then when free agency came around, I liked Carrier, too.”
Gruden liked Carrier enough to sign the 28-year-old veteran to a three-year contract worth $5.5 million, with $1.9 million guaranteed this year. Carrier was almost overlooked in an initial free agent wave that also included Jordy Nelson, Tahir Whitehead, Doug Martin and Keith Smith, but that guarantee served notice this was no fringe signing.
Carrier’s ability to play as an in-line tight end and also be split out as a 6-foot4, 244-pound receiver is a nice complement to the inside dirty work of Lee Smith and the route-running and explosiveness of Jared Cook. Gruden loves using tight ends, sometimes three at once.
Carrier can also play on all special teams.
“I think they like my versatility,” Carrier said. “I can play on all special teams, whether it’s kickoff returns or punt returns, and on offense block and get out in pass routes.”
The Raiders were Carrier’s first stop in 2012 as an undrafted free agent after a 39-game career with Division III Beloit College of Wisconsin where he caught 189 passes for 3,111 yards and 29 touchdowns. Carrier chose Beloit over a chance as a preferred walk-on at Division I Wisconsin in part so he could play multiple sports. A football, basketball and baseball player in high school, Carrier played football, basketball and even ran track for a year at Beloit.
After being released at the final cutdown, Carrier surfaced for a team with the Philadelphia Eagles on the practice squad, then it was on to the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh in 2013 and 2014.
Carrier sat out the Rams game, another indication of his security when it comes to a roster spot. He should play against Green Bay on Friday night.
Gruden believes the timing is right for Carrier to
blossom in a multi-faceted role.’
“Some guys take four, five years to find their niche and get their opportunity,” Gruden said. “He’ll get his this year.”
• Add Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to the mix for the Raiders at cornerback.
The 10-year veteran signed a contract Wednesday after a visit and workout at the club facility, according to an ESPN report.
Rodgers-Cromartie, 32, played the last four seasons with the New York Giants and also played with Arizona (2008-10), Philadelphia (2011-12) and Denver (2013). He is a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2009 and 2010. He is a veteran of 153 games and 120 starts.
Last season, RodgersCromartie played in 15 games with six starts and no interceptions for the Giants. He began the season as a starter, but was relegated to a reserve role and at one point was briefly suspended by coach Ben McAdoo for an unexcused absence.
The signing gives the Raiders another veteran cornerback to go along with projected starters Rashaan Melvin and Gareon Conley. Other cornerbacks include Daryl Worley, Leon Hall, Shareece Wright, Nick Nelson, Dexter McDonald and Antonio Hamilton.
• Gruden will play his offensive and defensive starters into the second quarter on Friday against the Packers, the Raiders head coach said Wednesday.
The offensive starters, aside from rookie left tackle Kolton Miller’s two series in the preseason opener, have played only one series this preseason. The defensive starters played more than the offensive ones against the Lions, and the starting secondary and a couple starting defensive linemen (Tank Carradine, filling in for Khalil Mack right now, and Mario Edwards Jr.) played in Los Angeles.
Now we’ll see the first 11s from both sides, near full strength, take on Green Bay for over a quarter in exhibition No. 3.
Donald Penn will see his first game action since Week 15 against the Cowboys last season, and Gareon Conley will play in front of the home crowd for the first time since Week 2 in 2017.
“We’re not gonna play them a whole lot. They will get some time, and hopefully they have some success,” Gruden said of his offensive starters. “Defensively it’ll be about the same.”