Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is thinking about his future, and he’s pretty confident that he hasn’t even played half of his NFL career.
Carr said Wednesday that his hope is to play another 15 years in the NFL — an ambitious goal for the 30-year-old quarterback.
“I feel like I can play another 15 years, without a doubt,” Carr said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. “Nothing’s hurting. It’s the middle of camp, and I feel great. I feel strong, I feel fast, I feel explosive. And I think it’s just the way we train now.
“I feel like I’m 20. I honestly believe this — that our generation, the way we can take care of our bodies with football, I think 30 is the new 20. … That comes from science, and that comes with more understanding.”
15 more years would mean Carr is playing until he’s 45. That’s pretty much unheard of unless you’re Tom Brady. That’s somewhat ironic when you consider recent stories about what Brady may think of Carr.
If Carr can accomplish this feat, more power to him. That said, it probably isn’t even fully up to him. Injuries can happen to anyone. Even if he stays healthy, the question can become whether anyone will still think he’s worth signing once he’s into his 40s. If Carr wants to meet his goal, he’ll have to play at a high enough level for long enough to justify being on a roster.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall/Wikimedia via CC BY-SA 4.0
