Derek Carr started the Raiders offseason program on time. His surgically repaired fibula didn't hold him back. Not one bit.
The Raiders quarterback says he's as good as new after breaking his ankle late last season, an incident that battered and bruised his team's playoff hopes. The Raiders lost both games after Carr went down, including the postseason opener at Houston.
The Raiders slammed the brakes on his rehab this winter, and even a conservative approach left him in good standing this offseason.
"I'm ready to rock," Carr said Monday afternoon. "I've been running, jumping, throwing, cutting. … I'm ready to do absolutely everything. I did everything the guys did today. I'll do everything the guys do tomorrow. I feel great. I'm truly blessed that it wasn't worse. It could've been a lot worse and it wasn't. I'm thankful for that."
Carr's rehab was relatively painless, and he progressed according to plan. Getting hurt in a Week 16 victory over Indianapolis should be considered poor timing, but the injury itself wasn't anything above the standard break. While Carr considered the rehab undaunting, he was excited to get beyond rehab's early stages
"The best part was getting off the crutches," Carr said. "That was the best part. That's when I could be a human again. I had the boot, but that was easier. I think what I really took for granted was picking my kids up and taking them to their room. Little things like that made me appreciate what I have so much more. I felt like a long process, but it flew by. Each day felt like a long day, but we tried to make it fun."
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The next stage is getting hit again, something that won't happen until the summer. Carr isn't concerned about that mental hurdle.
"I had my wife tackle me a few times. Wrestling Khalil Mack in pool basketball, that helps," Carr said with a smile. "You can ask him, too. I held him to no points. I've broken a lot of things. I've torn a lot of things. Because this one happened at such a dramatic time, where I couldn't play the next couple games, it's kind of bigger than it was. It wasn't hard for me to take the boot off and take my first step. For me, the mental side is easy to defeat because it's me versus me. That's going to be a win every time."
