When a team’s young, franchise quarterback has to leave a game with an injury to his throwing hand, there is cause for alarm.
But when that quarterback, the Raiders’ Derek Carr, later re-enters the game and performs almost flawlessly in leading a comeback victory and then declares he’s fine for this Sunday’s game, there’s reason for relief.
Carr, an MVP candidate. has practiced fully with a glove on his throwing hand this week and says he’s absolutely fine for the matchup Sunday between the 9-2 Raiders and the 6-5 Buffalo Bills at O.co Coliseum.
“I’m doing good. I’m doing good,” Carr this week said in an interview on 95.7 The Game. “Obviously it’s a little sore, but that’s expected. But it should be good. Just get the swelling down and it will be all right.”
Carr suffered two dislocations on the little finger of his right hand during the victory over the Panthers this past Sunday, on one play. He had to leave for a series, but then came back and looked sharp in the fourth quarter. On Wednesday, while taking questions from reporters, reporter Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reported Carr kept both hands in his pockets while taking several questions about the injury. Each time, Gutierrez reported Carr answered, “It’s great, thanks for asking.”
The team reported that X-rays of Carr’s injury, taken during the game, revealed no further damage.
Carr’s older brother David, who works for the NFL Network, said Derek’s finger was dislocated in two places.
Raiders
“When he originally went to the sidelines in kind of a mass panic, which put my entire family into a panic … they popped it back in and they said, ‘OK, does it feel better?’ ” David Carr related on air Monday. “And he was like, ‘No, it still feels pretty bad.’ Then they realized that the second knuckle was also dislocated. That’s when they went into the locker room, got the X-ray, and as soon as they got the X-ray (results) his only question was, ‘Can I damage it any more?’ ”
Derek Carr wore the glove on his throwing hand for the rest of the game – and in practices so far this week – to get a better grip on the football.
Now, Derek Carr wants to put questions about his finger injury to rest and just focus on the Bills this Sunday as Oakland goes after its sixth straight victory. He knows Bills head coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will have their defense – ranked No. 10 in the NFL -- ready for he and his teammates.
“They obviously are crazy talented, we all know that,” Carr said. “We see the kind of players they have. But you have a better grasp of what they’re trying to do with both coach Ryans. You could expect everything. You always get ready for everything.”
Sunday’s kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m.
