For the first time since his unceremonious departure at the end of the 2022 season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is facing his former team in the Las Vegas Raiders. While the exact week has not yet been revealed, the Raiders are traveling to New Orleans at some point during the 2024 season to take on the Saints. And when they do, Carr is excited for the chance to face Maxx Crosby.
Crosby has been terrifying opposing quarterbacks for five seasons now, doing so for Carr in four of those years. He has quickly established himself as one of the best edge rushers in the game and is coming off of back-to-back seasons in which he led the NFL in tackles for loss, with 22 and 23, respectively. The Raiders have struggled to put a strong defense around Crosby, but that hasn’t stopped him from making three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams in the last three seasons.
Carr is more than ready for his first time facing Crosby, citing him specifically as someone he’s excited about playing against, according to Bobby Kownack of NFL.com:
“I am looking forward to it. I cannot wait,” Carr said Friday, specifically in regard to playing his former Raiders teammate, Maxx Crosby, while answering fan questions on social media.
“Hopefully I’m going to try and start a fight with him and punch him, and then have the ref only see him throw his punch back,” Carr said, clearly joking. “That’s my goal.”
Carr and Crosby clearly developed a great rapport during their seasons together in Las Vegas, despite the fact that they never shared the field. Carr also has massive respect for the young star in Crosby and what he has already accomplished in his NFL career.
Maxx Crosby recalls beating Trent Brown in practice for first time
Crosby’s excellence was on display from the moment he took the practice field for the Raiders. The franchise had just signed Trent Brown to a four-year deal and he was viewed as one of the best at his position in the league, which just made Crosby want to go at him even more.
Crosby recently told this story on an episode of ‘The Rush’ podcast. The Raiders star noted that even the vets didn’t want to go against Brown, but he took on that challenge and after two weeks, he finally got the better of the massive tackle.
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