Derek Carr certainly kicked off the NFL “silly season” when he posted a photo on Instagram of him and former teammate Khalil Mack hugging it out after the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders game in London last season. This instant set off a firestorm of speculation about whether the 29-year old was teasing the idea of coming to Chicago. It’s no secret he’s been surrounded by trade speculation since as early as last spring and that only heated up when insiders reported the Raiders were heavily interested in Tom Brady.
Carr has heard this for months now and he is tired of it. One can hardly blame him. His relationship with head coach Jon Gruden, while not contentious can best be called stony. Belief is the coach wants his own guy under center. Hence the rumors. Since that Instagram post emerged, both of Carr’s brother delivered cryptic moments of their one. Darren Carr posting a gif that suggested this wasn’t a coincidence and David Carr liking a tweet by colleague Adam Rank stating he’d be happy with Derek in Chicago.
Insider Benjamin Allbright then revealed shortly later that the Bears would indeed be interested if the Raiders were to make him available.
So there’s that.
The big question then becomes is Carr interested in the Bears? Obviously he wouldn’t have much choice in where he goes regarding a trade but the destination could affect his attitude. There is evidence though to suggest he’d not only welcome Chicago as a new home. It might be at or near the top of his list.
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Derek Carr has ties to the Bears coaching staff
While a reunion with Mack might seem like the big selling point for Carr in Chicago, there is another reason. That being the presence of John DeFilippo. The Bears hired him as their new quarterbacks coach last month. He’s a man with an established reputation for being a great developer of the position. Carr knows this well since the two worked together his rookie season in 2014.
It seems DeFilippo made quite an impression. This Cleveland.com article that talks about his hiring as their new offensive coordinator in 2015 featured several quotes from the young quarterback. It’s quite apparent that Carr was a big fan.
“As long as Johnny (Manziel) is open to what Flip is telling him to do, he’ll get better as a quarterback. Johnny just has to trust what Flip is saying, and I’m sure he will. Johnny will love him…
…I can promise you he’s going to be one of those guys in a few years who’s up for a head coach job,” said Carr. “The Browns did a very good thing by hiring John DeFilippo. He’s an amazing coach and a great person.”
Carr made it plain he thinks the coach was key to his early career success.
“He was definitely instrumental in my development throughout the season,” said Carr. “The quarterback room will love him. He’s an amazing coach and a great person. He genuinely cares about his players and he cared about me. We were in constant communication and he did everything he could to help me play as well as possible.”
One season after DeFilippo instructed him, Carr came close to winning league MVP in 2015 with 32 touchdown passes and 3,987 yards. The quarterback would probably jump at the chance to reunite in Chicago.
