It may be the slowest part of the offseason for NFL players, but Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr apparently takes no days off when it comes to helping in the community.
Earlier in the week, Carr was driving in Dublin, Calif., when he spotted a man on the road whose car had run out of gas. The stranded motorist, local music producer Ron Reeser, was getting ready to walk to the closest gas station when Carr offered to give him a lift.
He had no idea he was riding shotgun with an NFL quarterback.
Reeser shared his story with Frank Somerville of KTVU, who posted Reeser’s account of the interaction on Facebook. It’s worth a read:
Here’s what Ron Reeser wrote about what happened and the interesting conversation they had inside Derek Carr’s Denali:
My faith in humanity has been restored. I have to share this story cause it literally just happened and I’m still surprised someone of this stature was so down to earth and kind enough to offer a helping hand to a complete stranger. My car was on empty and I was on my way to the gas station when I ran out of gas at the light. Thankfully I had a gas can in my trunk and I wasn’t too far from a gas station. So I figured I’d walk the rest of the way grab gas and come right back.
As soon as I step outta my car a black Denali drives up and the man asked me if everything was ok. I said I ran outta gas. He said hop in I’ll take you.We introduce ourselves and start exchanging convo as he drives off. He asks me what I do for a living so we start talking about music. I ask him what he does and he says I play football and is heavily into God and wants to become a pastor someday when he retires.
We pull up to the gas station I fill up the can, hop back in his truck and I ask him what position he plays. He says, “I’m a quarterback.”
“What string” I ask.
“1st string” he says.
So I ask him what his favorite team is and he replies, “Well I’m a little biased cause I play for the Raiders…”
I pause for a second and say no s—, what’s your name… “Derek Carr…”
At this point I was a little speechless, and couldn’t believe the situation I was in, let alone someone like him was that generous. But it doesn’t stop there… We pulled up to my car, I shook his hand, exchanged contact info and thanked him for his help. He paused and asked me, “is there anything you’d like to pray for before I go?” I grew up catholic and couldn’t pass at the opportunity, so I mentioned 3 things. He replied “Can I pray for you?”
He placed his right hand on my left shoulder and we said a prayer together…Thanks Derek Carr, I needed that. Not only was that experience surreal, I will always remember that for the rest of my life. The universe works in mysterious ways, we just have to keep the faith. I’m a firm believer in someone’s energy. And I encourage all of you to try and stay positive no matter what situation you’re going through. And most importantly pay it forward when you can. On that note, Happy Tuesday! I’m ready for the rest of the week and possibly just became a #Raiders fan LOL.
And in case you’re skeptical about the story, Carr and Reeser exchanged pleasantries on Twitter the following day:
thank u for the help & prayer today @derekcarrqb you've restored my faith in humanity & appreciate u taking the time #godbless #payitforward
— RON REESER (@ronreeser) March 14, 2017
God bless you too! Anytime!!!! But hopefully not on the side of the road again haha https://t.co/A3ntQoUHw2
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) March 15, 2017
Bravo, Derek. We’ve heard some great stories over the years about athletes helping those in need (remember when David Beckham did this?), and it never gets old. Carr is exactly the type of guy you want to build your franchise around.
