Raiders’ Reggie McKenzie on Derek Carr contract: ‘We’ll get it done’

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie strongly disputed a recent report that there are any communication issues regarding the pending contract extension of quarterback Derek Carr.

“I see Derek every day,” McKenzie said Thursday in an interview on 95.7 The Game. “We have a great relationship, communicate very well. Now, that’s not going to be an issue at all. … I don’t like discussing contracts through the outside, outside these walls. I kind of keep that as kind of being my mantra and kind of keep that personally in house, but bottom line is we love Derek and we want to keep him and we’re going to do everything to make sure this contract gets done.”

Related Articles Inside the Raiders: Derek Carr winks to his critics as he aims to become Drew Brees 2.0

Raiders miss four key players in practice — including Trent Brown, Henry Ruggs

NFL Week 2 picks: 49ers, Raiders come away winners

Raiders’ Gruden OK breaking from new-age thinking to give Jacobs heavy workload

Saints star Michael Thomas to miss Raiders game on Monday night McKenzie was offering a counter to Tuesday’s report via NFL Media’s Mike Silver that cited two unnamed sources who expressed Carr was “frustrated with the slow pace of discussions” and that the Raiders hadn’t reached out to Carr’s camp since the conclusion of the NFL draft.

Both sides had already mutually agreed to get through the draft first before engaging in serious talks, with Carr saying a month ago that “hopefully it just gets done before training camp. Because once training camp starts, I won’t even answer my phone if it has to do with that.”

Carr is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract that will pay him $977,519. The Indianapolis Colts’ Andrew Luck owns the league’s high annual average salary at $24,594,000 and the top-13 highest paid quarterbacks all make over $20 million per year, so Carr is due to become a very rich man.

“I want Derek Carr to be a Raider for his career,” McKenzie said. “We’ll get it done however we need to get it done. … I’m not the negotiator but I will make sure that I want Derek here and I want him to be a Raider and he knows that.

“We’ve had many discussions leading to that, so that’s all I can say in that regard. We want Derek and Derek wants to be here.”

Share this: Print

View more on The Mercury News