Gruden Meeting Reinforces T.J. Carrie's Desire to Remain With Raiders

PALO ALTO – Raiders cornerback T.J. Carrie became a father on Super Bowl Sunday. Newborn son Elijah Carrie has been the sole focus these last few weeks, as T.J. learns on the job how to be a dad.

Pardon him if he hasn't thought much about impending free agency. The 2014 seventh-round pick turned full-time starter has a rookie deal expiring soon, with a raise on the horizon following his best season as a pro.

That'll come in March. Early February, however, has kept him otherwise engaged.

"I've been so busy with my little one, and I haven't been getting any sleep," Carrie said Thursday. "Learning how to be a dad has been so engulfing that I haven't delved into the details of what free agency will mean to me."

Soul searching wasn't required to realize his dream scenario. The East Bay native wants to stay in Oakland, with a Raiders team he loved as a kid.

"My intention is to be here," Carrie said. "I'm a Bay Area guy, a hometown kid. I couldn't see myself being anywhere else. This is a passion for me. I dreamed about playing for the Raiders for such a long time. Now that I've had the opportunity to play there for four years, I want to finish (with the Raiders)."

Carrie wants to work with a new Raiders regime. He visited the team's Alameda complex on Wednesday and met with new head coach Jon Gruden and defensive assistants. The interaction left Carrie wanting more, furthering his belief that be belongs in Silver and Black.

"Coach Gruden is very energetic," Carrie said. "He's a coach that likes to have fun but it a very business oriented guy. There are a lot of things, I imagine, that are going to change, just from the way he has done things. It's going to be different, but I embrace it. It'll be very challenging entering into a new regime, but there are a lot of positive factors involved with it."

The Raiders don't have many cornerbacks under contract come mid-March. They released David Amerson, and could do the same with Sean Smith later this offseason. Gareon Conley should start at one spot, but everything else is wide-open entering free agency and the draft.

Carrie could find value on the open market after recording 70 tackles and nine passes defensed in 16 starts. He'll explore his options further next month, before free agency begins in earnest March 14.

"I know March is really when it starts to go down," Carrie said. "My son will be a little older then, so I can focus more on free agency and make some more decisions."

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