Las Vegas Raiders legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson dropped some cold, honest truth this week. The Derek Carr debacle put a black eye on an otherwise underwhelming season. Many players on the roster had remarkable campaigns, but the team ended up with a double-digit loss record. Putting a bow on the season, Carr found himself at home for the last couple of games. While the situation was far from ideal, Woodson believes it was all business with regard to Carr’s benching.
While speaking with USA Today’s Levi Damien, Woodson opened up about the event that has come to define the 2022 season. Well, at least for the Raiders.
“I certainly understand people saying that he’s been wronged. But again, when you think about the fact that the way the contracts are, all that plays into the fact that if he plays and gets hurt, they’d be on the hook, you kind of get it on both sides and that’s the business side of it that everybody always talks about.”
Many in Raider Nation are fixated on the notion that Josh McDaniels and Co. purposely undermined Carr this past season. Carr’s benching was the final nail in the coffin. However, as Woodson puts it, the Raiders were simply covering their bases. It would’ve been a financial disaster if Carr got hurt in two meaningless games, and suddenly the Raiders found themselves in quite a predicament.
Woodson also made the valid point that no one in the Raiders’ organization has gone through what Carr has. Despite the endless coaching and managerial changes and off-the-field tragedies, Carr remained a true leader for the Silver and Black. At the same time, Charles Woodson noted that “again, this business gets everybody at some point, and there’s never an exact science as to the way these things are handled.” He attributes this to the fact that while Derek Carr surely deserved a sendoff, it just wasn’t realistic.
Will fans ever agree on this?
Many will agree with Woodson’s assessment. However, there are those who are adamant that Carr was done wrong by McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, and ownership. In all likelihood, we’ll never see folks agree on this matter despite logical responses from respected legends such as Woodson.
*Top Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images