Carr’s raring to take risk of playing
QB hopes to face Chargers 2 weeks after back fracture
On a smoky, gray day at the Raiders’ Alameda headquarters — with the raging North Bay fires weighing heavily in the air and in our minds — quarterback Derek Carr looked us in the eye and said he’s ready to play Sunday.
Now we have to wait and see whether the Raiders let him.
It’s kind of hard to believe that Carr could be ready to suit up against the Chargers in Oakland, just two weeks after suffering a spinal fracture in a loss at Denver. Early estimates had him out up to six weeks, but Carr wasn’t hearing that. And now he wants everyone to hear that he’s ready to return.
“We’ll see. I was ready to play last week in my head. We’ll let coach make that decision,” Carr said.
Well? What do you say, coach?
“We think he’s ready to go,” Jack Del Rio said. “We’ll see how practice goes and mon-
itor it as we go through the week. But, things are encouraging.”
The rechristened Los Angeles Chargers are expecting to see him out there, too.
“I just assume he’s going to play,” Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said on a conference call Tuesday. “He’s a competitor. He’s one of the leaders of that team. If he can be out there, he’ll be out there.”
The Raiders sure could use their starting quarterback. After winning their first two games and with Super Bowl expectations all around, they’ve lost three straight, misplacing their mojo somewhere along the way. The running game has been stagnant. Amari Cooper continues to drop balls. And backup quarterback EJ Manuel couldn’t get it done Sunday against the Ravens in a 30-17 loss.
So, all eyes turn to Carr. But is it too soon to come back? Is he risking major injury, playing with a healing fracture? Sure. But Carr gives it no mind.
“I think that’s the risk every time we take the field. It’s a violent game we play,” said Carr, who was remarkably upbeat for someone in pain. “I think it’s more violent than people realize watching it on TV. I think it’s a risk we take every single week. You take a risk every time you go out there.”
But, surely, the pain has to factor into it.
“I’ll be honest with you, it hurt so bad I was kind of hoping it was something bigger than a muscle,” joked Carr. “I hoped my pain tolerance was better than that.”
So, the Raiders have a big decision on their hands. They certainly need to get this season back on track.
As Del Rio put it: “Obviously, we need a win. We recognize the need. If there’s a desperation meter, we want it pretty bad.”
Which makes it sound like the team is willing to take the risk on Carr, who pushed the Raiders to let him play against Baltimore.
“The thing that pushed me to want to play was I wanted to win. Show our city and our organization that I’ll do everything I can to be out there,” Carr said. “As soon as I was told it could be up to six weeks, I said, ‘We’ll see.’ ... I serve a big God. So I’m glad he can help me there.”
And then the devoutly religious quarterback put this whole debate into perspective, discussing the tragic wildfires burning in the North Bay.
“My heart really goes out to the families,” Carr said. “When something like that happens, and someone tells you what it really is, you just sit there and think, like, you’re fortunate, you’re blessed. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people who lost houses, loved ones. That kind of stuff, that’s real life. That’s hard. Being 2-3 is not hard, when we really think about it.”