Derek Carr says back injury impacted his play in 2017

When Derek Carr went down with a back injury in Week 4 this past season, it appeared as though he was going to miss several games. He ended up only sitting out the following week, but that doesn’t mean the injury completely went away in just a matter of days.

On the latest edition of the Raiders Insider Podcast, Carr was asked if the transverse process fractures he suffered in his lower back had anything to do with his down year. While he brushed aside talk about the injury all season, he finally decided to come clean.

“When you break three bones in your back, it doesn’t feel good,” Carr said, as transcribed by Scott Bair of NBCSports.com. “I’m thankful God healed me to the point I could walk around and be able to practice. Injuries will never be something I talk about, especially during the season, but since it’s after the season, the (back issue) was one of those things that was there.”

Carr said the back injury wasn’t the sole reason he seemed to take a big step back after his Pro Bowl season in 2016, but it definitely played a role.

“I had to deal with it,” Carr said. “I had to do certain things to manage it, but I just didn’t talk about it. I didn’t want it to be an excuse. It was a want more than anything else. I didn’t want it to be a reason. I couldn’t let that be a reason why I couldn’t do A, B or C.”

Doctors obviously told Carr that there was no risk of injuring his back further, so it was his choice to play through pain. For a large part of the season, Oakland’s offense looked completely out of sync. Jon Gruden is hoping to solve some of those issues, and Carr made some comments this week about the new head coach that should have Raiders fans excited.