Oakland

Carr Already Has Mastered New Offense

Raiders quarterback shows Gruden in minicamp that he's completely familiar with new scheme and approach

On Tuesday, new Raiders head coach Jon Gruden decided to throw some curveballs at his quarterback.

On the first day of on-field workouts this offseason, Gruden put Derek Carr to the test – and liked what he saw.

After plenty of meetings and conversations in recent weeks between the head coach and quarterback about the playbook and the way the offense is supposed to work, Tuesday was the day for a pop quiz.

“He threw everything at me,” Carr told reporters. “He tried to get me to see if I was listening to him in the meetings. We had a lot of fun doing that. It’s always fun to accept his challenge and hopefully do good at it and look at him or wink at him or something like that. We have fun together because we both have the same goal of putting the ship in the water and hitting this thing running.”

While the attention this week is mostly focused on the NFL draft that begins Thursday night – the Raiders have the 10th overall pick in Round 1 – Gruden is getting the chance to be on the field with Oakland veterans for the first time in the second phase of the offseason program. Most veterans are taking part in the voluntary minicamp.

Carr told the media the offense felt familiar, not foreign, after so many meetings and discussions with Gruden and offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who had been Carr’s coordinator in his rookie season.

Gruden is having fun working with Carr.

“You can have a really creative imagination with that guy at the quarterback position,” Gruden said. “He can make every throw. It comes out of his hand fast and accurate. He’s mobile and sharp. He’s a great leader.”

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