Derek Carr left his pre-draft interview with the Minnesota Vikings convinced that the coach across the table was not sold on him. That is his read, but the outcome is hard to ignore. Minnesota selected quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the 2014 draft, and Carr went to the Raiders four picks later.
The Vikings never publicly explained how they ranked the two, so Carr’s impression is the only account of how that meeting went.
“I’m in there, and I said something like ‘I would just check it this vs that,’” Derek Carr said on Home Grown with David & Derek Carr. “And he’s (Mike Zimmer) like, ‘You’re not worried they’ll catch on?’ I said, ‘You give defenses too much credit.’ They drafted Teddy Bridgewater.
“I guarantee you he didn’t like me after that moment. I guarantee he didn’t like me because after that, I was like, y’all give defense too much credit.”
Carr was a popular prospect in his draft class, but was never projected as an early first-round pick. But the former QB was a star in Fresno State, where they have his jersey retired. Coming out of college, Carr had 12,843 passing yards and 113 touchdowns, and had back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year titles in the Mountain West Conference.
The Raiders took him in the second round of the 2014 draft with the 36th overall pick, and he was the fourth quarterback off the board that year, behind Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater.
Carr spent nine seasons with the Raiders, going 63-79 as a starter while throwing for 35,222 yards and 217 touchdowns. He then played for the New Orleans Saints, going 14-13 over two seasons with 6,023 yards and 40 touchdowns.
After stints with the Raiders and the Saints, Carr announced his retirement on May 10, 2025. It caught plenty of people off guard, especially because he walked away from $30 million.
The reason came down to his right shoulder. He had been dealing with a labral tear for a long time, along with serious wear in his rotator cuff. Surgery was an option after he talked with the Saints’ medical team, but he passed on it because he did not believe he could play at a high level again, per Front Office Sports.
Things got interesting in February, when NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported that Carr could consider a return for the 2026 season. Per the insiders, the Bengals also reached out to the former QB when Joe Burrow was out with turf toe last year.
Naturally, the speculation turned to Minnesota. Carr has also made it clear that any team could still talk him into it.
In a video from Home Grown with David & Derek Carr, he put it this way.
“Moral of the story, would I come back?’ Carr said in February. “The answer, obviously, is yes, but I had to say no a couple of times so far,” Carr said. “… So would I do it? Absolutely, I would do it. I told you two things: I’d have to be healthy, and I would want a chance to win a Super Bowl.”
NFL.com’s Nick Shook also considered Minnesota as a natural fit if Carr does decide to return.
“If Carr is interested in manning a backup role that could include a camp competition for the starting job, he’ll find that in Minnesota,” Shook wrote. “J.J. McCarthy didn’t cement his role as the Vikings’ franchise quarterback in his first season as their starter and has plenty of work ahead of him this offseason.
“Minnesota might not exercise as much patience in 2026, either, not after they watched their playoff hopes evaporate this past season because of unreliability under center.”
The Minnesota talk cannot be ignored just yet. Kyler Murray is only on a one-year deal, and what becomes of his future with the team is still a mystery. J.J. McCarthy has been traded to the New York Giants, creating some room for Carr should he wish to come back.
The Saints still hold rights over Derek Carr, though.
Even with all that talk, Carr stayed retired. And it seems he still points back to his interview with Minnesota as the reason things never lined up.
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