Derek Carr got the full Raiders experience before his time in the Silver and Black was finished.
With this in mind, the Saints quarterback is very grateful for where he is now.
"I'm happy to be somewhere where we're in a stable organization that's been proven for years," Carr told the Fresno Bee’s Anthony Galaviz on Saturday, "and I hope that the Raiders find something good there too, where they can keep that stability for the next guys because I know how important it is and I care about my old teammates. But for the time being, I'm just excited to be a part of the Saints organization because they've won at a high level for a long time."
Carr isn't wrong: Save for the last two years, the Saints have been a perennial contender, thanks in part to the presence of Drew Brees. Sean Payton made for an ideal coach to pair with Brees, but both are now gone.
Now, it's Carr's turn to drive the stagecoach. So far, he likes what he's seeing.
"We had a great offseason as a team, really came together, and the work on the football field is very competitive," he said. "It's one of the more competitive, as many camps I've ever been a part of. We have so many veterans that are really trying to prove it every day and trying to beat each other every day, talking trash. It was so competitive and so fun to be a part of."
At 32 years old, Carr isn't exactly young, but he still has plenty of quality football in him, even if the Raiders didn't think so anymore. New Orleans is paying him like a franchise quarterback, albeit on a shorter deal. The time is now to produce.
"There's a lot of work and we have a tough division that we are going to have to compete against and we're excited about the challenge," he said.
With Tom Brady off to the comfort of retirement, the NFC South is wide open. With Carr, an offense filled with capable playmakers and a defense that has served as the backbone of the organization in recent years, the Saints could be seen as the favorite.
Defensive end Cameron Jordan certainly thinks so, stating his goal to get Carr to the Super Bowl immediately.
"For a defensive leader to say that, he wants to take me back there, just shows his heart," the quarterback said. "That's his love for his teammate, that he wants to do something like that for his teammate. And that's pretty much all our guys and that's why I fell in love with the place. It would be kind of a cool story to be back there."
The Saints have plenty of work to accomplish before they're even close to competing for a Lombardi Trophy. But there's no harm in setting their sights high.
