Raiders QB Derek Carr picked again for sportsmanship award
November 14, 2018 - 5:00 pm
Updated November 15, 2018 - 4:16 pm
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Little connects the past three Raiders seasons.
The franchise went from a 12-4 record to 6-10 and now 1-8. Its coaching staff is almost entirely new. T
hirteen members of the current 53-man roster played at least one snap for the 2016 team.
One congruity is the club’s sportsmanship award.
Derek Carr was nominated again.
On Wednesday, the Raiders announced the quarterback as their Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award selection. He was chosen to represent the organization for a third straight year. Each NFL franchise must submit one player for the honor, which will be presented Feb. 2 at the NFL Honors show on the evening before the Super Bowl in Atlanta.
Will Kiss, the team’s senior director of media relations, picked Carr for the prize.
Coach Jon Gruden endorsed the decision.
“You can’t ask for any more,” Gruden said. “It’s been disappointing, obviously, the circumstances that he’s had to play through this year. We’ve struggled in some areas. I’ve not helped him as much as I had hoped. But he’s a special guy. He’s a special person and I think a great quarterback.”
Carr has been sacked 28 times in 2018.
He is on pace for 52 sacks, which easily would establish a career high and surpass the 36 combined sacks he took the previous two years. Along with injuries and youth up front, the Raiders’ wide receivers have been unspectacular.
All things considered, Carr has done well in his first year under Gruden’s offense.
He’s completed 71.3 percent of passes and averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. Both are career highs.
“I try to be the same all the time,” Carr said. “Obviously, there’s a little ups and a little downs here and there. I just try to be the same guy. For people to see that in me, that’s really cool. I want people to talk about my character and who I am as a man way more than they talk about me as a football player. Hopefully, we get that right, too.”
Notable
■ Nose tackle Justin Ellis (injured reserve) could resume practice as early as Thursday. Such was his goal to start the week. Ellis suffered a foot injury during the Sept. 10 opener against the Rams. He is expected to return this season.
■ Wide receivers Jordy Nelson (knee) and Martavis Bryant (knee) were the only Raiders players not to practice. Five players were limited: cornerback Gareon Conley (groin), linebacker Kyle Wilber (knee), left guard Kelechi Osemele (knee), center Rodney Hudson (ankle) and cornerback Daryl Worley (shoulder).
Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.