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Derek Carr Praises Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree

By Chase Ruttig

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Jun 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) at minicamp at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With upcoming football camps as part of his Carr Elite project with his brother and family, Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr took to radio row this past week to promote his football camps as well as to chat about the upcoming 2015 season. Giving Raiders flagship station 95.7 The Game an opportunity to pick his brain with training camp coming up while giving himself a chance to publicize his football camps which take place in California each summer.

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Talking about the Raiders, the conversation on 95.7 naturally drifted towards the team’s two newest wideouts and Carr’s initial thoughts surrounding his new weapons. Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper both being brought in to give the quarterback of the future additional weapons to stimulate his development into an NFL passer as the Raiders continue to focus on making it as easy as possible for Carr to grow into the team’s franchise quarterback.

While talking about Cooper, Carr noted that the now former Alabama star and Heisman finalist stands out from the crowd due to his separation ability as well as the speed needed to create the distance between defensive backs to get open. Carr also giving Cooper credit for his work ethic in addition to his special abilities.

“He is ridiculous in and out of his breaks,” said Carr of Cooper on 95.7 The Game. “His style of play is perfect for this league. He’s good at getting on toes and creating separation. He’s good at when the ball is in his hands making those fast-twitch movements to make a guy go one way so he can take it to the house. It’s just little things that honestly people don’t even notice.

“His work ethic is second to none. I was throwing with him as soon as mini-camp was over so we can get more reps in, and our plan was to throw a couple more times, but he texted me that night. He said, ‘hey, let’s throw at least three more times. I need to get this one route right.’ Just him telling me that kind of stuff, it blew my mind.”

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On the subject of Crabtree, the team’s veteran pickup in the offseason at receiver, Carr revealed that the former Niner who is often slapped with the ‘diva’ tag is a great teammate who has been great so far in the Raiders locker room. Adding that Crabtree has been making sure to spend plenty of time with him to make sure that the duo is on the same page come the start of the season.

“Crabtree has been awesome, not only just on the field, but in the locker room,” Carr said of Crabtree’s first impressions on the team and with the quarterback himself. “He’s such a great teammate. I love the guy. I talk to him all the time. We’re always talking about the game. We’re always talking ball. We’re always talking routes, concepts, and what we’re going to do during the game, and hand signals, all those things. He is a football junkie. He’s been a nice guy, a nice addition to our team.”

The relationships forged between Carr and the receivers are crucial to the Raiders success on offense going forward, which makes things encouraging that the young quarterback is developing positive partnerships with two players who were brought in with the purpose of making Carr a more successful player when it comes to the aerial attack. Struggling with mediocre options downfield in his rookie season, the success of Cooper and Crabtree will have a direct impact on if Carr takes it to the next level or not in 2015. If you ask the quarterback himself, the new additions should do just fine in helping him develop further in his second NFL season.

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