Derek Carr. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Why Derek Carr is a big supporter of Raiders QB Geno Smith

By Anthony Galaviz | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 8:17 PM ET

Derek Carr knows a lot about the Las Vegas Raiders after spending nine seasons with the franchise. He broke records and led the team to two playoff appearances before he was released. He later played for the New Orleans Saints for two seasons before retiring due to a shoulder injury.

While at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship Tournament in Lake Tahoe, Carr said he will be rooting for the Raiders, especially new quarterback Geno Smith.

"Hopefully (RB Ashton Jeanty) alleviates some pressure for Geno," Carr told Nevada Sports Net. "So Geno can go out there and do what he does and be accurate. He's a crazy accurate passer. I've always been a great big fan of his. I hope he breaks all my records. I hope he has the greatest career time with the Raiders because that's what you want."

"I love Pete Carroll... On offense you know they're gonna run the football, obviously with their draft pick, even though he's a Boise State Bronco, I'll look past that he's a Raider now so we're family"

Derek Carr on the new era of Raiders football #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/W8CSD8CEdf
— Shannon Kelly (@shannonkelly_tv) July 12, 2025

Carr's tenure with the Raiders ended unceremoniously following the 2023 season when he was released when then-general manager Dave Ziegler and then-head coach Josh McDaniels made the call. The Raiders had problems finding stability at QB until Smith was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason.

It remains to be seen if Smith, 34, can get close to Carr's franchise passing yards (35,222) and touchdowns (217) records. Time will tell, but Carr speaking highly about Smith is big since he knows what he is talking about after playing in the NFL for 11 seasons and has seen what Smith can do on opposite sidelines. Smith is described as an "accurate passer" as shown in 2024 when his completion percentage was 70.4%.

Can Smith continue his accurate passing? For Carr's sake, he is hoping Smith carries over that accuracy in Las Vegas. While Carr didn't finish his career with the Raiders the way he hoped, his support for the team, and for Smith, will carry on.

Anthony Galaviz

Anthony Galaviz is a big sports fan since at the age of 2 when he began crying when the TV channel changed. True story. He started writing about sports in 1999 for The Fresno Bee in California

More must-reads: