Carr: 'Burn in my heart to show what I'm capable of' with Saints
Derek Carr is entering his 11th season with plenty to prove following an uneven debut campaign with the New Orleans Saints.
"With the way things started last year, I still have that burn in my heart to show what I'm capable of," Carr said on the "Jim Rome Show" on Wednesday. "What really hurt the most was getting hurt and not being able to put your best foot out there every single time."
The veteran passer exited a Week 3 matchup against the Green Bay Packers after sustaining a shoulder injury. It was a common theme for the quarterback, who suffered multiple ailments last season, including broken ribs. However, he managed to start all 17 regular-season games and credited an old-school mindset of playing through the pain. He's especially proud of leading the club to win four of its final five games to close out the campaign.
The 33-year-old admitted during an interview on the "Green Light with Chris Long" podcast that he didn't feel completely healthy until about two weeks before team meetings in April.
Carr finished the year passing for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in his first campaign to lead the Saints to a 9-8 mark as a starter.
The four-time Pro Bowler enters the season preparing to work with his fourth offensive coordinator in as many years, as Klint Kubiak is taking on the role in 2024.
Kubiak's motivation is seemingly rubbing off on Carr, who says he's "even more fired up this year than I was last year."
Carr spent his first nine seasons as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders and is their all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. However, his tenure with the franchise that drafted him in 2014 came to a disappointing end when he was benched down the final stretch of the 2022 season.
Carr will see his old friends when he takes the field against the Raiders in Week 17 on Dec. 29, and he doesn't plan on holding back against his former teammates.
"When it comes to playing those guys, we still want to kick their butts," he said.