Raiders GM will focus on extension for Carr after draft

Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie's biggest coup may occur well into the summer.

McKenzie and his staff are preparing for the upcoming NFL draft, but still have plenty of work ahead in the offseason, with Derek Carr entering his contract year.

The Raiders don't intend to allow Carr, one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks, to test free agency and McKenzie is targeting an extension after the draft wraps up.

"He knows what we’re trying to do in free agency, and he's never saying, 'I need to know now. It's not like that," McKenzie said of Carr on Wednesday, via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. "More likely, the serious talks will happen after the (NFL) draft. The communication has been ongoing, just talking about the philosophy of a contract and the thought process around it. Hopefully when the serious talks start going, then it’s going to be easier."

Carr was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl last season after completing 63.8 percent of his passes for 3,937 yards and 28 touchdowns against six interceptions. However, Carr's campaign came to a crashing halt when he broke his leg during a Week 16 contest against the Indianapolis Colts.

The quarterback headlines an outstanding young core brought in by McKenzie and his personnel. Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack also warrants an extension, but the Raiders can use their fifth-year option on the budding superstar for the 2018 campaign.

"We're going to try and get our quarterback signed. We want to get Khalil signed, and at the same time we’re trying to sign (guard) Gabe (Jackson)," McKenzie said. "You have to allot some money for those guys. With that being said, we didn’t have the opportunity to go after guys like we did last year, at those numbers."